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ftna  ajlMiiu*  jroHng  tn.  1 


THE  POWER 


OF 


CHEISTIAN  BENEVOLENCE 


ILLUSTRATED  IN 


THE  LIFE  AND  LABOKS 


OF 


MAEY  LYON. 

A  NEW  EDITION 

.ABBIDOED  AXO  IX  SOME  PABTS  ENLABQED. 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE 
AMERICAN   TRACT   SOCIETY, 

150  NASSAU-STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1858,  by  0.  R.  Kraos- 
BtTBY,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of 
New  York. 

Transferred  to  the  American  Tract  Society. 


PREFACE. 


"The  Power  of  Christian  Benevolence  illustrated 
in  the  Life  and  Labors  of  Mary  Lyon,  compiled  by 
Edward  .Hitchcock,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  President  of  Am- 
herst College,  with  the  assistance  of  others,"  was 
originally  published  at  Northampton  by  Messrs.  Hop- 
kins and  Bridgman,  in  1851,  and  that  edition  is  con- 
tinued in  circulation.  That  work  has  been  made  the 
basis  of  this ;  but  much  has  been  omitted,  especially 
in  numerous  details  of  the  Mount  Holyoke  Seminary ; 
much  has  been  added,  and  many  parts  have  been  re- 
cast. This  has  been  chiefly  done  by  those  who  fur- 
nished the  principal  material  for  the  first  edition,  and 
who  were  long  and  intimately  associated  with  Miss 
Lyon  in  her  public  labors.  Invaluable  as  their  servi- 
ces have  been,  their  names,  at  their  united  request,  are 
here  omitted,  as  is  also  that  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hitch- 
cock from  the  title-page  at  his  own  suggestion.  The 
work  is  intended  as  a  monument,  not  to  its  authors, 
nor  to  Miss  Lyon,  but  to  His  most  holy  praise  through 
whose  mighty  power  and  abounding  grace  she  became 
what  she  was,  and  finished  the  work  which  was  given 
her  to  do. 

The  life  of  Miss  Lyon  is  a  lesson  and  a  treasure 


4  PREFACE. 

to  the  race.  The  wise  may  be  made  wiser  and  the 
good  better  by  it.  It  will  teach  the  teacher  and  fur- 
nish impulse  and  encouragement  to  the  Christian  min- 
ister. It  will  kindle  in  the  hearts  of  many  young 
ladies  new  desires  after  knowledge  and  usefulness. 
It  will  show  them  that  they  can  worthily  imitate  Miss 
Lyon  by  Christian  fidelity  and  energy  in  their  appro- 
priate sphere,  though  God  should  not  call  them  as  he 
did  her  to  the  work  of  founding  a  new  and  peculiar 
seminary.  It  will  deepen  the  public  sense  of  the  im- 
portance of  Christian  education,  and  show  how,  by 
heavenly  wisdom  and  zeal,  it  may  be  promoted.  It 
will  illustrate  the  value  of  moral  and  religious  influ- 
ence in  regulating  the  conduct  and  forming  the  char- 
acter of  the  young.  It  will  show  what  a  wise  econo- 
my there  is  in  making  religion  the  first,  the  second, 
and  the  third  thing  in  a  literary  institution.  It  will 
prove  that  the  entrance  of  the  word  of  God  into  a 
school  of  any  kind  giveth  light  and  comfort,  and 
every  blessing  to  teacher,  parent,  and  pupil,  as  well 
as  to  the  church  and  the  world.  It  will  do  something 
to  stay  the  general  declension  from  the  good  old  way 
of  our  Puritan  fathers,  who  taught  their  children  be- 
times to  worship  God  and  fear  his  holy  name.  It 
will  add  fresh  fuel  to  the  flame  of  missionary  zeal, 
and  bring  forward  many  a  living  sacrifice  to  the  work 
of  the  gospel  among  the  heathen.  Fathers  and  moth- 
ers by  their  firesides  may  learn  wisdom  from  it.  The 
Christian  philanthropist  may  see  where  rests  the 
great  hope  of  the  world's  regeneration  and  of  the 
coming  in  of  millennial  glory ;  and  scarcely  any  trav- 


PREFACE.  5 

eller  to  the  shores  of  eternity  can  read  without  profit 
the  story  of  Miss  Lyon's  pilgrimage  thither. 

To  the  service  of  the  Redeemer,  in  the  fervent 
hope  that  it  may  contribute  to  these  blessed  ends,  the 
present  work  is  devoutly  consecrated. 
Apbil,  1858. 


CON^TENTS: 


CHAPTER  I. 


EABLY    LIFE,    TO    HER    ENTERING    MR.    EMERSON'S 

SCHOOL  AT  BYFIELD. 

1797-1821. 

Ancestors  of  Mary  Lyon — Her  maternal  grandparents — Character 
of  her  parents — Her  own  description  of  her  "mountain  home," 
the  farm,  the  garden,  the  landscape,  vicissitudes — Her  youthful 
sobriety — Rapid  progress  in  study^ — Early  concern  about  relig- 
ion— Hopeful  conversion  in  1816 — Marriage  of  her  sisters  and 
mother— Removal  of  her  brother — In  the  academy  at  Ashfleld — 
Unparalleled  avidity  for  knowledge — Alternate  teaching  and 
studying, - 13 

CHAPTEE  II. 

LABORS  AT  ASHFIELD,  BUCKLAND,  AND  DERRY. 

1821-1828. 

Miss  Lyon  enters  Rev.  Joseph  Emerson's  school  at  Byfield — Her 
room-mate — Character  as  a  student — Religious  character  de- 
scribed by  her  room-mate — Letters  to  her  mother  on  religion  in 
the  school — Letter  to  her  sister — Important  benefits  there  re- 
ceived— Engages  in  teaching  in  the  academy  at  Ashfield — Relig- 
ious character  at  that  time — She  unites  with  the  church  in  Buck- 
land — An  important  crisis — Invitation  to  teach  in  Chautauqua 
county,  N.  Y. — Invitation  to  assist  Miss  Z.  P.  Grant  in  the 
Adams  Female  Academy,  Derry,  N.  H. — Letters  to  Miss  Grant — 
Decides  to  go  to  Derry— Preparatory  studies — Letters  to  her 
mother  and  others  as  to  the  course  of  study  at  Derry,  daily  du- 
ties, and  study  of  the  Bible — Opens  a  winter  school  in  Buck- 
land — Letter  to  Miss  C. — Vacation  in  Troy — Letters  from  Derry 
and  Bnckland,  chiefly  as  to  the  state  of  religion — Letters  to  Miss 


8  CONTENTS. 

Grant — Singleness  of  eye  to  the  salTation  of  others — A  revival 
in  the  school  at  Ashfield, - 28 

CHAPTER   III. 

LABORS  AT  BUCKLAND  AND  AT  IPSWICH. 
1828-1830. 

Engages  in  the  school  at  Ipswich  during  the  summer — At  Bnckland 
in  the  winter — Reasons  for  so  doing — Letters  to  her  mother  and 
Miss  Grant — Letter  showing  her  interest  in  individual  scholars — 
Excess  of  labors — Decides  to  spend  two  winters  in  Ipswich — Re- 
view of  her  labors  and  successes  at  Buckland — History  of  one  of 
her  pupils — Her  reward, - 73 

CHAPTER  IV. 

EXCLUSIVE  CONNECTION  WITH  THE  IPSWICH  FE- 
MALE SEMINARY. 

1830-183-4. 

Great  variety  of  labors — Remarks  to  her  pupils  on  early  rising — A 
successful  plan — Increase  and  religious  prosperity  of  the  school — 
Absence  of  Miss  Grant — Letters  to  Miss  Grant — Vocal  music — 
Project  of  a  permanent  female  seminary — Resolution  as  to  mar- 
riage— Letter  to  Prof.  Hitchcock  of  Amherst,  on  the  proposed 
seminary — Letters  to  Miss  Grant — Letter  to  one  of  her  nieces — 
Testimony  of  her  niece,  afterwards  Mrs.  Burgess — Mount  Pleas- 
ant, at  Amherst — Letters  to  Miss  Grant  as  to  a  proposed  semi- 
nary at  Amherst,  the  claims  of  its  poorer  friends,  and  a  separa- 
tion— Dissolution  of  the  Board  of  Trustees — General  discourage- 
ment— Lessons  of  experience, 90 

CHAPTER  V. 

MISS  LYON'S  PLANS  MODIFIED  AND  MATURED— CLOS- 
ING LABORS  AT  IPSWICH-PECULIAR  TRAINING 
AND  FITNESS  FOR  HER  WORK. 

1834. 

Summer  rambles  in  1833— Circular  to  the  friends  of  Ipswich  semi- 
nary, proposing  plan  of  a  new  seminary — Letter  to  Thomas 
White,  Esq. — Conversion  of  a  nephew— Letters  to  Miss  Grant, 
and  to  her  mother,  as  to  the  proposed  institution — Letter  to 
Miss  White— To  her  youngest  sister— Qualifications  for  her  new 
and  great  work,  health,  eothosiasm,  sound  sense,  knowledge  of 


CONTENTS.  9 

haman  nature,  distinct  ideas  of  her  plan,  indifference  to  worldly 
things,  eminent  piety,  vividness  of  her  views  of  truth — Charac- 
ter of  her  pupils, 126 

CHAPTER  VI. 

• 

ENLISTMENT  OP  INFLUENTIAL  FRIENDS. 
1835. 
Meeting  of  a  few  friends  at  Ipswich — A  committee  appointed — Con- 
tributions commence  in  Ipswich — Her  mode  of  personal  appeal — 
Letters  to  pupils  and  others — Winter  at  Amherst — Location  fixed 
at  South  Hadley — Letter  to  her  mother — The  heart  of  a  benevo- 
lent Christian  of  Boston  opened — Name  of  the  seminary — Agen- 
cy of  Rev.  Mr.  Hawks — Letters  to  her  friends — The  seminary 
incorporated — Devotion  of  Trustees  to  the  work, 159 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  ERECTION  AND  FURNISHING  OP  THE  EDIFICE. 

1836,  1837. 

Laying  of  the  corner-stone,  Oct.  3,  1836 — Circular  to  obtain  furni- 
ture— Efforts  to  enstamp  on  it  a  high  character  at  the  outset — 
Letters  to  friends — Frequent  journeys — Superintends  the  build- 
ing— Description  of  the  building — State  of  the  enterprise  in  the 
FaUof  1837, 178 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  FIRST  YEAR  OP  THE  MOUNT  H0LY0KE;.PEMALB 
SEMINARY. 

1837,  1838. 

Opening  of  the  school  in  Nov.  1837 — Hardships  met  by  the  first  pu- 
pils— Their  welcome  by  Miss  Lyon — Providential  supplies— The 
pupils  all  boarders — Domestic  labor  performed  by  them — Advan- 
tages of  this  plan  as  to  economy  and  health — Difficulties  in  the 
outset — Miss  Lyon's  energy  fully  taxed — Bread-making — A  no- 
ble band  of  helpers — Financial  skill — Instruction — The  course 
of  study, - 194 

CHAPTER  IX. 

LEADING  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  INSTITUTION. 
The  seminary  her  home — Marriage  of  Miss  Caldwell — Miss  Lyon's 
increased  labors  in  teaching,    especially  religious   truth  and 
duty — Usefulness  of  her  pupils  in  the  church  a  chief  aim— Con- 
1* 


10  CONTENTS. 

stant  reference  to  the  Bible — Obedience  "as  unto  the  Lord" — 
Her  own  conformity  to  rules— Incidents  illustrating  her  skill  in 
government — Benevolence  inculcated — Her  care  in  selecting 
teachers — Their  character  and  cooperation  with  her — "  The  half- 
hour  system" — Counsels  as  to  prayer — "Recess  meetings" — 
Regular  study  of  the  Bible — Aptttude  in  drawing  lessons  from 
it — Morning  lectures — Letter  from  a  pupil — Faithfulness  of  her 
religious  teachings — Inquirers'  meetings — Meetings  for  Chris- 
tians, and  for  the  unconverted, 209 

CHAPTER  X. 

BELIGIOUS   HISTORY   OP   THE   SEMINARY— THE  MIS- 
SIONARY SPIRIT, 

Seasons  of  revival  every  year— Summary  by  Miss  Whitman — Most 
of  the  pupils  the  first  year  pious — Revival  during  the  second 
year,  resulting  in  the  hopeful  conversion  of  all  the  pupils — Sim- 
ilar result  on  the  third  year — Subsequent  years — The  means  em- 
ployed—Special prayer  requested — Letters  to  Mrs.  Banister  and 
Mrs.  Safford — The  secret  of  success,  making  religion  the  one 
thing  needful — The  seminary  a  nursery  of  missionaries — Early 
efforts  to  inspire  Christian  benevolence — Fervid  views  of  tho 
woes  and  claims  of  the  heathen — Missionary  meetings — Results — 
Contributions — Notes  from  the  missionary  journal,  sketches  of 
addresses — Extract  from  "  The  Missionary  Offering  " — Wide  dis- 
persion of  her  pupils  as  missionaries, ........  —  243 

CHAPTER  XI. 

MISCELLANEOUS  CORRESPONDENCE— PUBLISHED 
PAMPHLET— FIFTIETH  BIRTHDAY. 

Letter  on  the  flrst  death  in  the  seminary — On  her  mother's  death — 
Kindness  to  relatives  in  the  state  of  New  York — Letter  to  Miss 
Grant  before  her  marriage — Enlargement  of  the  seminary  build- 
ing—Extracts from  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject—- Letters  to  Mrs. 
Banister,  Mrs.  Safford,  Rev.  Justin  Perkins,  D.  D.,  and  Miss 
Fiske — Teachers  becoming  missionaries — Note  on  the  subject 
fipom  Miss  Whitman — "Missionary  journal"  during  a  revival — 
Letters  to  Hon.  D.  Safford— To  Mi.'w  Fiske  and  Miss  Rice— To 
Mrs.  Banister — To  her  pupils  on  heathen  ground — A  visit  at 
Springfield,  interview  with  Mrs.  Winslow — Miss  Lyon's  fiftieth 
birthday— Letter  to  Min  Hannah  "^Yhitc, 286 


CONTENTS.  11 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  LAST  LETTERS,  THE  LAST  VISIT,  THE  LAST  IN- 
STRUCTION,  AND  THE  DEPARTURE. 

Visit  to  Mrs.  Porter  at  Mon'son — Letters  to  Mrs.  Burgess — To  Miss 
Whitman — Her  last  letter — Mrs.  Porter's  account  of  her  first 
and  her  last  visit  at  Monson — "Missionary  journal"  relative  to 
Miss  Lyon's  last  illness — Death  of  a  pupil  from  malignant  ery- 
sipelas— Illness  of  Miss  Lyon — Last  address  to  her  pupils — Ag- 
gravations of  her  disease — Erysipelas  appears — Visit  of  her  pas- 
tor, Mr.  Laurie— Her  happy  release  March  5, 1849 — Funeral  ser- 
vices— Sermon  by  Rev.  Dr.  Humphrey — Marble  monument  at 
her  grave, 319 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

MISS  LYON'S  CHARACTER  AND  LABORS. 
A  glance  in  review  of  the  foregoing  records— Her  firm  and  well- 
balanced  constitution — Mental  vigor — Practical  wisdom — In- 
vention and  combination — Executive  and  administrative  skill — 
Thorough  discipline — Power  of  influencing  others — Natural  ac- 
tivity— Value  of  the  aid  she  received — Training  up  efficient 
women — Secret  of  success  in  teaching — She  understood  the 
truth  of  God — Her  unbounded  benevolence — Her  life  one  of 
strenuous  exertion — Her  powers  consecrated  to  the  service  of 
God  and  man — Her  desire  to  know  and  do  all  her  duty,  —  342 

Db.  Humphrey's  Sketch  at  her  Funeral, 357 

Dr.  HrrcHCOCK's  Address  at  the  exsuino  Anntvebsabt, 360 

Sentences  from  heb  Lips,  noted  by  one  op  her  Pupils, 369 


LIFE  AND  LABORS 


OP 


MARY  LYON. 


CHAPTER  I. 


EARLY  LIFE  TO  HER  ENTERING  MR.  EMERSON'S 

SCHOOL  AT  BYFIELD. 

1797-1821. 

Mary  Lyon  was  born  in  Buckland,  Franklin  coun- 
ty, Massachusetts,  Feb.  28,  1797.  Her  ancestors  were 
among  the  first  settlers  of  Ashfield,  a  town  adjoining 
Buckland,  in  the  same  county.  As  far  back  as  they 
can  be  traced,  they  lived,  with  one  or  two  exceptions, 
to  a  very  advanced  age,  were  remarkable  for  the  dis- 
charge of  filial  duties,  and  were  of  irreproachable 
character.    All  were  followers  of  Christ. 

Deacon  Isaac  Shepard,  her  maternal  grandfather, 
was  an  eminently  pious  man.  His  six  children  all 
became  Christians  in  early  life,  and  were  blessings  to 
society  around  them.  His  father  and  his  son  bore  the 
name  of  Isaac,  and  each  held  the  office  of  deacon,  thus 


U  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

making  three  deacons  in  succession  of  the  same  name 
in  the  family.  A  letter  from  her  maternal  grand- 
mother is  preserved  among  Miss  Lyon's  papers,  writ- 
ten with  the  tremulous  hand  of  extreme  old  age,  in 
which  she  says  it  is  more  than  seventy  years  since  she 
"  'listed  a  soldier  for  Jesus."  She  waa  the  daughter 
of  Chileab  Smith,  a  man  of  ardent  piety,  whose  pray- 
ers for  his  "posterity  to  the  latest  generation"  are 
still  remembered  by  those  who  heard  them. 

There  being  no  Baptist  meeting  in  the  vicinity, 
and  Mr.  Smith  having  a  preference  for  that  denomina- 
tion, he  opened  his  house  for  public  worship,  and  was 
instrumental  in  organizing  a  small  church  from  the 
borders  of  three  adjoining  townships,  Conway,  Ash- 
field,  and  Buckland.  Of  this  church,  Mr.  Smith  was 
the  first  leader  and  instructor.  Two  of  his  sons  be- 
came preachers  in  the  Baptist  denomination.  One  of 
them  succeeded  his  father  in  the  care  of  this  little 
church — a  good  man,  who  long  and  steadfastly  re- 
sisted the  current  of  error  and  immorality  which  at 
times  threatened  to  overwhelm  that  community.  This 
church  still  exists,  a  blessing  to  the  neighborhood. 

Aaron  Lyon  and  Jemima  Shepard,  the  parents  of 
Mary,  were  both  members  of  this  church.  Their  resi- 
dence was  in  Buckland,  within  half  a  mile  of  the  Ash- 
field  line,  and  about  one  mile  and  a  half  from  the  par- 
ents of  each,  and  from  the  place  of  worship.  They 
therefore  continued  to  worship  with  their  fathers. 
These  and  other  circumstances  led  Mary  often  to  say, 
playfully,  that  she  belonged  to  both  towns. 

Her  father  was  remarkable  for  the  uniformity  of 
his  temper.    He  was  never  known  to  speak  an  angry 


EARLY  LIFE.  15 

word.  Kind  and  obliging  in  his  manners,  he  was 
greatly  beloved  by  his  acquaintance,  and  often  was 
sent  for  to  pray  with  the  sick  and  dying.  Her  moth- 
er was  a  person  of  strong  mind  and  active  piety. 
Her  praise  is  in  the  churches,  and  it  is  enough  to  say 
of  her  here,  that  Mary  was  emphatically  in  her  moth- 
er's own  image.  These  parents  were  united  in  hon- 
oring the  institution  of  the  Sabbath,  and  in  training 
their  children  to  make  preparation  for  entering  on 
holy  time  at  an  early  hour  Saturday  evening. 

Under  such  influences,  "  the  germ  of  Mary's  char- 
acter received  the  culture  that  decided  its  future  form 
and  growth."  It  is  not  known  how  many  of  her  ex- 
cellences or  principles  of  action  are  to  be  attributed 
to  early  and  judicious  parental  training;  for  often 
"  the  descending  stream  of  influence  owes  its  salubrity 
to  the  salt  some  pious  hand  cast  into  it  at  a  point 
so  high  that  it  has  ceased  to  be  acknowledged  or 
known." 

Mary  was  the  fifth  of  seven  children,  of  whom  only 
two,  the  eldest  daughter  and  the  only  son,  survived 
her.  Her  parents,  though  in  comfortable  circumstan- 
ces, were  not  among  the  rich  of  this  world.  With 
industry  and  economy,  they  were  enabled  to  meet  all 
the  necessary  wants  of  their  rising  family.  On  the 
death  of  the  father,  in  1802,  at  the  age  of  forty-five, 
the  family  were  left  to  depend  mostly  on  their  own 
exertions. 

Let  us  learn  their  situation  from  Mary's  own 
words  in  the  "Missionary  Offering,"  a  small  book 
written  by  her  in  1843.  After  speaking  of  a  want 
of  correspondence  between  the  dress  and  contribu- 


16  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

tions  of  a  widow  and  her  daughter,  who  were  sup- 
ported by  the  widow's  needle,  she  says,  "I  was  strong- 
ly reminded  by  contrast  of  another  widow,  whom  I 
knew  and  loved  forty  years  ago,  and  of  her  'mountain 
home.'  She  was  not  rich  in  the  treasures  of  earth. 
Her  little  farm  was  surely  not  more  to  her,  in  pro- 
viding for  her  seven,  than  was  that  skilful  needle  in 
providing  for  the  one.  But  want,  at  that  'mountain 
home,'  was  made  to  walk  so  fairly  and  so  gracefully 
within  that  circle  of  limited  moans,  that  there  was 
always  room  enough  and  to  spare  for  a  more  restrict- 
ed neighbor.  I  can  now  see  that  loved  widow,  just 
as  I  did  in  the  days  of  my  childhood.  She  is  less 
than  forty  years  of  age,  and  her  complexion  is  as 
fair  and  her  forehead  as  noble  and  as  lofty  as  on  her 
bridal  day.  Now  she  is  in  that  sweet  garden,  which 
needs  only  to  be  seen  to  be  loved.  Now  she  is  sur- 
veying the  work  of  the  hired  man  and  her  young  son 
on  that  wild,  romantic  farm,  made,  one  would  think, 
more  to  feast  the  soul  than  to  feed  the  body.  But 
almost  always  she  was  to  be  found  busy,  both  early 
and  late,  amid  her  household  cares,  and  in  the  culture 
of  the  olive  plants  around  her  table.  In  that  domain, 
nothing  was  left  to  take  its  own  way.  Every  thing 
was  made  to  yield  to  her  faithful  and  diligent  hand. 
It  was  no  mistake  of  that  good-hearted  neighbor  who 
came  in  one  day,  begging  the  privilege  of  setting  a 
plant  of  rare  virtue  in  a  corner  of  her  garden,  be- 
cause, as  he  said,  there  it  could  never  die.  The  roses, 
the  pinks,  and  the  peonies,  those  old-fashioned  flowers 
which  keep  time  with  Old  Hundred,  could  nowhere 
grow  so  fresh  and  so  sweet  as  in  that  little  garden. 


EARLY  LIFE.  IV 

Nowhere  else  have  I  ever  seen  wild  strawberries  in 
such  profusion  and  richness  as  were  gathered  near  by. 
Never  were  rareripes  so  large  and  so  yellow,  and 
never  were  peaches  so  delicious  and  so  fair,  as  grew 
on  the  trees  of  that  favored  farm.  The  apples  too 
contrived  to  ripen  before  all  others,  so  as  to  meet  in 
sweet  fellowship  with  peaches  and  plums,  to  entertain 
the  aunts  and  cousins. 

"I  can  now  see  that  'mountain  home,'  with  its 
sweet  rivulet  finding  its  way  among  rocks  and  cliffs 
and  hillocks  and  deep  craggy  dells.  Then  just  be- 
yond the  precincts  of  the  family  domain  was  the  *  top 
of  the  hill,'  crowned  by  its  high,  rolling  rock,  ever 
inviting  the  enterprise  of  each  aspiring  heart.  Every 
one  was  amply  repaid  who  would  climb  that  steep  hill 
and  ascend  that  high  rock.  There  might  be  seen  the 
far-off  mountains  in  all  their  grandeur,  and  the  deep 
valleys  and  widely  extended  plains,  and  more  than  all, 
that  village  below,  containing  only  a  very  few  white 
houses,  but  more  than  some  young  eyes  had  previous- 
.  ly  seen.  But  sweetest  of  all,  the  length  of  a  mile  or 
more,  to  the  village  church,  was  that  wild,  winding 
way,  traversed  each  Sabbath  morning  by  that  orderly 
group,  while  the  family  pony  gave  the  mother  her 
horseback  ride.  There  too  in  winter  was  that  sleigh, 
packed  so  snugly  and  gliding  so  gently  over  that  same 
winding  way  to  that  same  small  church. 

"At  that  'mountain  home '  every  want  was  prompt- 
ly and  abundantly  met  by  the  bounties  of  summer  and 
the  provident  care  for  winter.  The  autumnal  stores, 
so  nicely  sorted  and  arranged,  always  travelled  hand 
in  hand,  through  the  long  winter,  like  the  barrel  of 


18  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

meal  and  cruse  of  oil.  The  apples  came  out  fresh  in 
the  spring,  and  the  maple  sugar,  that  most  important 
grocery  of  the  neighborhood,  was  never  known  to  fail, 
before  the  warm  sun  on  the  sparkling  snow  gave  de- 
lightful indication  that  sugar  days  were  near.  When 
gathered  around  that  simple  table,  no  one  desired  a 
richer  supply  than  was  furnished  by  the  hand  of  that 
dear  mother.  The  simple  school-day  dress  too,  so  neat 
and  so  clean,  and  amply  sufficient  in  the  view  of  those 
young  minds,  should  not  be  forgotten ;  while  the  rare 
gift  of  the  Sunday  suit,  kept  expressly  for  the  occasion, 
formed  an  important  era  in  the  life  of  the  possessor, 
and  was  remembered  with  grateful  smiles  for  many 
days  afterwards.  The  children  of  that  household, 
thus  abundantly  supplied,  never  thought  of  being  de- 
pendent or  depressed.  They  felt  that  their  father  had 
laid  up  for  them  a  rich  store  in  grateful  hearts,  and 
among  the  treasures  which  will  never  decay  ;  and  that 
their  mother,  who  was  considered  in  all  that  neigh- 
borhood a  sort  of  presiding  angel  of  good  works,  was 
continually  adding  to  those  stores.  I  can  now  remem- 
ber just  the  appearance  of  that  neighbor  who  had  a 
numerous  household  to  clothe,  as  she  said  one  day, 
*  How  is  it  that  the  widow  can  do  more  for  mo  than 
any  one  else  ?' 

"But  I  remember  the  sorrows  as  well  as  the  joys 
and  the  labors  of  that  loved  widow,  that  dearest 
friend  of  my  young  heart.  On  the  2l8t  of  last  De- 
cember, about  noon,  the  days  of  forty  long  years  were 
just  numbered  and  finished  since  death  came  to  that 
'  mountain  home'  and  took  away  that  aflfectionate  hus- 
band, that  kindest  of  fathers.    The  dying  scene  in 


EARLY  LIFE.  19 

that  retired  'north  room'  I  can  never  forget.  How 
mournful  was  the  contrast  between  the  clear  midday 
sun  and  those  sorrowing  hearts,  those  bursting  sighs, 
and  those  flowing  tears.  Those  last  faltering  words, 
*  My  dear  children — ^what  shall  I  say  to  you,  my  chil- 
dren? God  bless  you,  my  children,'  have  not  yet- 
died  away  on  my  ear.  Then  came  the  funeral,  which 
gathered  all  the  neighborhood  around  that  mourning 
circle.  Gently  was  it  whispered  by  one  and  another, 
'  We  have  all  lost  a  friend  ;  the  peacemaker  is  gone.' 
How  deep  were  those  weeds  of  mourning,  shrouding 
that  family.  Even  the  plaintive  tones  of  the  little 
one,  but  just  able  to  lisp  her  father's  name,  were  oft 
and  long  repeated  by  kind-hearted  neighbors.  Then 
came  that  first  cold  winter  of  widowhood.  How 
mournfully  did  the  cheerful  fire  blaze  on  the  domestic 
hearth,  as  we  gathered  around  that  bereaved  family 
altar.  What  child  of  that  household  could  ever  for- 
get those  extraordinary  prayers  of  the  sorrowing 
mother  for  the  salvation  of  her  fatherless  children,  as 
they  were  offered  up,  day  by  day,  through  all  the 
long  cold  winter  ?  Before  that  mourning  day  came, 
the  eldest,  while  yet  a  child,  professed  to  love  the 
God  of  her  fathers.  As  the  remaining  six  were  gath- 
ered in  one  by  one,  and  all  before  they  had  passed  the 
years  of  their  youth,  the  mother  failed  not  to  refer  to 
her  own  agonizing  prayers  during  that  first  winter  of 
her  widowhood.  But  the  mother  is  gone,  and  most  of 
the  seven  are  gone.  Together  they  are  gathered  to 
their  peaceful  rest.  Only  a  remnant  is  left  to  talk  of 
that  sweet  'mountain  home,'  of  that  bereaving  Decem- 
ber, and  of  those  never-to-be-forgotten  prayers." 


20  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

From  all  the  sources  left  us,  it  appears  that  from 
childhood  to  womanhood  Mary  was  remarkable  for  a 
solidity  of  mind  and  sobriety  of  deportment  rarely 
found  in  the  volatile  season  of  youth.  With  teach- 
ableness, energy,  frankness,  and  warmth  of  heart,  were 
combined  elasticity  of  spirits  and  an  ardent  desire  to 
do  something  to  augment  the  happiness  of  her  friends. 
To  this  were  added  a  keen  perception  of  the  ludi- 
crous, and  a  power  of  humorous  description,  which 
rendered  her  a  very  enlivening  companion. 

In  childhood  her  opportunities  for  education  were 
limited;  but  being  one  of  the  youngest  of  a  family 
which  is  known  to  have  excelled  in  intelligence  and 
scholarship,  she  undoubtedly  received  much  instruc- 
tion at  home.  Until  she  was  six  or  seven  years  of 
age,  there  was  a  district  school  within  a  mile  of  her 
mother's  residence.  From  the  time  that  she  was  old 
enough  to  walk  that  distance,  she  attended  it  regular- 
ly when  it  was  in  operation.  It  was  then  removed 
two  miles  from  them,  and  she  attended  but  occasion- 
ally. Sometimes  she  lived  with  her  relatives  in  Ash- 
field,  sometimes  near  a  school  in  Buckland,  assisting 
the  families  into  which  she  was  received,  as  a  remu- 
neration for  her  board. 

She  was  early  noticed  for  her  uncommon  progress 
in  study.  One  of  her  teachers  said,  "I  should  like  to 
see  what  she  would  make  if  she  could  be  sent  to  col- 
lege." 

She  committed  to  memory  with  unusual  facility, 
and  recited  with  verbal  accuracy ;  yet  she  did  not 
fail  to  get  a  clear  understanding  of  the  meaning  of 
her  lessons.    The  teacher  is  now  living  with  whom 


EARLY  LIFE.  ^f 

she  studied  Alexander's  Grammar ;  and  he  says  that 
in  four  days  she  learned  all  that  scholars  were  accus- 
tomed to  commit,  and  repeated  it  with  correctness  at 
one  recitation.  Her  progress  in  arithmetic  was  equal- 
ly rapid,  and  she  understood  clearly  and  at  once  the 
reasons  for  every  operation.  But  instead  of  depend- 
ing on  genius,  as  minds  less  gifted,  are  prone  to  do, 
she  believed  that  her  school  lessons  were  to  be  mas- 
tered only  by  hard  study,  and  applied  herself  to  them 
with  great  assiduity  and  perseverance.  She  could  not 
express  her  thoughts  in  as  few  words  as  many  do  who 
have  fewer  thoughts  to  express ;  and  her  enunciation 
was  so  rapid  as  sometimes  to  be  painful  to  the  listen- 
er. She  is  remembered,  even  when  quite  young,  to 
have  been  particularly  attentive  to  religious  instruc- 
tion. There  were  then  no  Sabbath-schools ;  and  when 
the  weather  would  permit,  it  was  customary,  during 
the  interval  of  public  worship,  for  the  congregation 
to  resort  to  the  cool  grove,  or  the  burying-place  of 
the  dead.  As  a  consequence,  especially  where  young 
people  are  thus  grouped  together,  levity  and  conver- 
sation unsuited  to  the  Sabbath  would  prevail.  Mary 
is  remembered  as  withdrawing  herself  from  those  cir- 
cles, and  expressing  surprise  to  her  associates  that 
any  one  could  indulge  in  such  things  on  God's  holy 
day. 

The  old  beech-tree  is  still  remembered  which  stood 
behind  a  school-house  in  Ashfield,  on  whose  crooked 
trunk,  in  a  season  of  religious  interest,  she  used  to  sit 
during  the  school  intermissions,  and  tell  those  who 
gathered  around  her  of  the  way  of  salvation,  as  she 
had  been  taught  it  by  her  parents,  though,  as  she 


22  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

supposed,  she  had  not  then  herself  begun  to  tread 
in  it. 

It  is  not  known  that  she  has  left  any  record  of 
her  mental  conflict  while  under  religious  conviction. 
Some  of  her  early  friends  know  that  the  first  exercises 
of  her  mind,  which  she  was  led  afterwards  to  look 
upon  as  indicative  of  a  saving  change,  were  in  1816, 
under  the  plain,  simple  explanations  of  Bible  truth 
from  elder  Enos  Smith,  the  brother  of  her  grand- 
mother. The  day  which  she  afterwards  regarded  as 
probably  the  one  on  which  her  heart  was  renewed 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  was  the  Sabbath.  The  sermon  to 
which  she  had  been  listening  was  on  the  character  of 
God;  and  as  she  walked  through  the  fields,  on  her 
return  home,  reflecting  on  his  glorious  attributes,  her 
mind  was  filled  with  a  sweet  sense  of  his  love,  and 
her  affections  seemed  for  the  first  time  to  flow  out  tow- 
ards Him  whom  she  had  reverenced,  and  whose  char- 
acter she  had  approved  from  her  earliest  recollection. 
But  her  feelings  were  not  then  so  marked  in  their 
character  as  to  lead  her  to  speak  of  them  to  others, 
or  to  give  her  much  confidence  that  she  was  accepted 
of  God. 

Let  us  return  to  the  inmates  of  "the  mountain 
home."  The  three  sisters  older  than  herself,  at  a 
suitable  age,  entered  into  the  married  state.  In  1810, 
her  mother  married  again,  and  removed  to  Ashfield, 
taking  with  her  the  two  younger  sisters.  Mary,  with 
her  only  brother,  remained  at  the  homestead.  For  a 
year  previous  to  the  marriage  of  this  brother,  she, 
being  about  fifteen  years  of  age,  took  charge  of  the 
house.    The  remuneration  which  she  received  from 


EARLY  LIFE.  23 

him  aided  her  in  the  prosecution  of  her  studies.  From 
this  time  until  1819,  when  he  removed  to  Chautauque 
county,  N.  Y.,  her  home  continued  to  be  in  his  family. 
The  removal  of  her  brother,  to  whom  she  was 
tenderly  attached,  was  a  great  trial  to  her.  She  felt 
that,  for  the  second  time,  she  was  made  an  orphan. 
Not  only  must  she  leave  the  spot  that  gave  her  birth, 
but  she  must  also  be  separated  from  the  family  so  dear 
to  her  heart.  Yet,  while  distressed  at  the  separation, 
with  characteristic  composure  she  handed  these  lines, 
from  an  old  familiar  song,  to  her  brother's  wife : 

"  Not  one  sigh  shall  tell  my  story, 
Not  one  tear  my  cheek  shall  stain ; 
Silent  grief  shall  be  my  glory — 
Grief  that  stoops  not  to  complain." 

But  those  dear  children,  whose  "little  hands  cling 
closest  to  the  heart,"  how  did  she  grieve  for  them. 
Her  friends  that  remained  with  her  well  remember 
her  grief  as  they  were  borne  away.  For  months  after- 
wards, whenever  that  brother  was  spoken  of  in  her 
presence,  her  tears  would  flow,  and  her  silent  and  sub- 
dued feelings  did  not  hinder  her  friends  from  seeing 
how  deeply  and  tenderly  she  loved  him.  Little  did 
she  then  imagine  that  in  process  of  time  those  daugh- 
ters were  to  return,  to  receive  instruction  from  her 
lips  in  a  seminary  founded  by  her  instrumentality, 
and  to  go  forth,  some  to  labor  as  teachers  in  our  own 
country,  and  one  to  teach  the  benighted  heathen  under 
the  shadow  of  a  Chinese  pagoda. 

From  her  brother's  marriage  until  1817,  little  is 
known  of  her,  except  that  she  occasionally  attended 
school,  and  commenced  her  career  as  teacher  near 


24  LIFE  OP  MART  LYON. 

Shelburne  Falls,  Massachusetts,  receiving  as  compen 
sation  at  first  seventy-five  cents  per  week  with  board 

In  the  autumn  of  1817  she  entered  Sanderson 
Academy  at  Ashfield,  between  four  and  five  miles 
from  her  birthplace.  She  was  then  emphatically  na- 
ture's child.  Those  who  knew  her  only  at  Ipswich 
or  South  Hadley,  can  realize  but  little  of  the  Mary 
Lyon  of  those  days.  One  remarked  of  her  then, 
"  She  is  all  intellect ;  she  does  not  know  that  she 
has  a  body  to  care  for."  But  a  warm  and  true  heart 
soon  gained  the  love  and  confidence  of  her  iassociates. 
Her  whole  appearance  at  that  time  was  so  unique,  her 
progress  in  study  so  unprecendeted,  her  broad  intel- 
ligent face  so  inviting,  that  no  one  who  was  then  a 
member  of  the  academy  will  ever  forget  her ;  nor 
how  the  scholars  used  to  lay  aside  their  books  when 
she  commenced  her  recitation.  Here  she  found  friends 
to  encourage  and  assist  her  in  her  search  for  know- 
ledge. In  the  rough  specimen,  they  could  see  a  dia- 
mond of  uncommon  brilliancy,  and  knew  that  it  need- 
ed only  to  be  polished  to  shine  with  peculiar  lustre. 

Her  slender  means,  received  from  her  brother  and 
obtained  by  spinning,  weaving,  teaching,  etc.,  were 
soon  expended.  She  was  about  to  return  to  her  old 
employments,  when  the  trustees  of  the  academy  gave 
her  the  free  use  of  all  its  advantages.  It  is  supposed 
that  this  was  the  time  when  she  resolved  to  prepare 
herself  particularly  for  teaching.  She  collected  her 
bedding,  table  linen,  etc.,  constituting  the  full  amount 
of  her  household  treasures,  and  exchanged  the  whole 
at  a  boarding-house  for  a  room  and  a  seat  at  the  table. 
Nothing  could  exceed  the  eagerness  with  which  she 


EARLY  LIFE.  25 

engaged  in  the  prosecution  of  her  studies.  It  was 
judged  by  the  family  where  she  boarded,  that  she 
slept  on  an  average  not  more  than  four  hours  in  the 
twenty-four ;  and  all  her  waking  moments,  except  the 
time  occupied  by  her  hurried  meals,  were  spent  in 
study.  The  academy  in  Ashfield,  although  it  may  at 
times  have  enjoyed  more  prosperity,  yet  never  had 
collected  within  its  walls  minds  more  fitted  to  bless 
the  world  by  their  influence.  But  distinguished  as 
some  of  them  have  been  for  talents  and  acquirements, 
no  one  was  able  to  keep  up  with  Mary  in  her  recita- 
tions ;  and  one  additional  study  after  another  was 
given  her  by  her  teacher  to  keep  her  within  reciting 
distance  of  her  classes.  But  all  proved  insufficient 
for  the  purpose.  The  more  her  powers  were  taxed, 
the  more  she  seemed  capable  of  performing.  At  last 
her  teacher  gave  her  Adams'  Latin  Grammar,  direct- 
ing her  to  omit  her  extra  lessons  while  committing  it 
to  memory,  only  keeping  up  with  her  regular  classes 
in  their  studies.  This,  he  supposed,  would  employ  her 
for  some  time.  But  within  three  days  she  had  commit- 
ted and  recited  all  those  portions  which  students  then 
commonly  learned  when  first  going  over  the  work. 
Her  teacher,  who  preceded  her  to  the  spirit-world, 
was  frequently  heard  to  say  that  he  never  knew  the 
Latin  grammar  more  accurately  recited;  and  there 
are  persons  now  living  who  heard  the  recitations,  and 
can  bear  the  same  testimony. 

Her  services  as  a  teacher  soon  began  to  be  eager-, 
ly  sought,  and  wherever  she  could  find  an  opportunity 
to  improve  herself  and  others,  she  would  take  a  class 
of  pupils.     When  she  had  thus  obtained  sufficient 


26  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

means  to  justify  it,  she  would  go  to  some  place  and 

receive  instruction  on  particular  subjects  in  which 

she  found  herself  deficient.     No  one  was  more  ready 

/\  to  set  about  and  accomplish  an  improvement  in  any 

'  I  respect,  when  convinced  it  was  necessary. 

At  one  time  she  might  be  found  in  a  family  school 
in  Buckland,  teaching  all  the  variety  of  studies  neces- 
sary or  desirable  for  an  intelligent  group  of  sons  and 
daughters.  At  another  time  she  resided  for  a  season 
in  the  family  of  Rev.  Edward  Hitchcock,  then  pastor 
of  a  church  in  Conway — now  Dr.  Hitchcock,  Presi- 
dent of  Amherst  College — learning  from  him  the 
principles  of  natural  science,  and  from  his  wife  the 
arts  of  drawing  and  painting.  In  that  place  also  she 
taught  a  select  school  with  much  ability  and  success. 
Then  we  find  her  for  one  term  in  Amherst  Academy, 
when  for  the  first  time  she  encroached  on  the  small 
patrimony  left  her  by  her  father. 

At  this  period  of  her  history,  a  love  for  spiritual 
things  did  not  prominently  appear,  and  she  studiously 
avoided  any  allusion  to  her  own  exercises  of  mind. 

About  two  years  after  first  entering  the  academy 
at  Ashfield,  being  desirous  of  improving  her  handwrit- 
ing, she  placed  herself  under  the  instruction  of  one 
who  was  known  to  •  excel  in  the  art  of  penmanship. 
From  him  we  have  the  following  testimony  as  to  her 
character  and  appearance  at  that  time : 

"About  the  year  1819,  I  was  engaged  as  usual  in 
instructing  a  district  winter  school.  After  I  had 
taught  a  few  weeks,  as  I  went  one  morning  into  the 
schoolroom,  I  saw  there  a  stranger  seated  with  my 
first  class.    They  immediately  introduced  her,  stating 


EARLY  LIFE.  27 

that  she  wished  to  attend  a  while,  and  devote  her 
time  especially  to  penmanship.  With  that  unassum- 
ing manner  which  ever  characterized  her,  she  took 
her  place  among  the  common  scholars,  until,  by  their 
request,  she  was  furnished  with  a  chair  and  a  place 
at  the  table,  there  being  no  desk  in  the  house.  Here 
she  patiently  sat  from  day  to  day,  affording  assistance 
in  instructing  the  younger  classes  as  she  found  she 
was  needed,  until  she  had  acquired  the  elementary 
principles  of  the  art.  After  beginning  to  combine 
those  principles,  she  handed  me  her  book  for  a  copy. 
I  wrote  it  in  Latin.  She  returned  her  book,  request- 
ing that  she  might  have  it  in  English,  remarking  that 
she  feared  those  who  might  review  her  book  would 
think  her  to  be  wiser  than  she  was.  I  mention  this 
circumstance  merely  to  show  that  it  was  a  prominent 
trait  in  her  character  never  to  appear  better  than  she 
was.  She  was  naturally  unostentatious,  willing  to  be 
taught,  thankful  for  favors  in  any  form,  but  especially 
for  those  which  related  to  the  mind." 


28  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 


CHAPTER  II. 

LABORS  AT  ASHFIELD,  AT  BUCKLAND,  AND  AT 

DEREY. 

1821-1828. 

We  have  now  traced  Miss  Lyon's  course  until 
1821,  when,  with  the  avails  of  her  labor  and  the  rem- 
nant of  her  patrimony,  she  went  to  attend  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Emerson's  school  in  Byfield,  near  Newbury- 
port,  Mass. 

Miss  Amanda  White,  afterwards  Mrs.  Ferry,  a 
missionary  at  Mackinaw,  influenced  Miss  Lyon  to 
accompany  her  to  Byfield,  and  was  her  room-mate 
while  there.  She  writes,  "My  first  acquaintance 
with  dear  Mary  was  at  the  time  when  she  became  a 
pupil  in  the  academy  at  Ashfield.  On  returning  from 
a  religious  lecture,  we  fell  in  company  with  each 
other,  and  we  needed  no  formal  introduction.  Her 
frank,  open  countenance  invited  confidence,  and  a 
mutual  interest  was  at  once  awakened.  Our  walk 
was  a  long  one,  and  we  conversed  freely  on  various 
subjects.  Learning  that  I  was  expecting  to  enter  the 
school  also,  she  expressed  a  wish  that  we  might  occu- 
py the  same  desk.  With  this  I  readily  complied; 
and  I  pursued  the  same  branches  of  study  that  she 
did,  so  far  as  I  could  keep  up  with  her.  She  was 
ever  ready  to  lay  aside  her  books,  and  lend  a  helping 
hand  to  those  of  weaker  intellect.  Though  nearly 
thirty  years  have  elapsed  since  then,  I  seem  even  now 
to  see  her  cheerful,  laughing  face  turned  upon  me,  as 


AT  BYFIELD.  29 

I  presented  some  Gordian  knot  in  my  studies  for  her 
to  unravel." 

When  she  entered  the  school  at  Byfield,  her  mind 
was  active  and  powerful,  but  undisciplined.  Mr. 
Emerson  remarked,  years  afterwards,  that  in  original 
power,  though  not  in  discipline,  he  considered  her 
superior  to  any  other  pupil  he  ever  had  in  his  sem- 
inary. In  a  letter  written  at  that  period,  her  room- 
mate says,  "  Mary  sends  love  to  all ;  but  time  with 
her  is  too  precious  to  spend  it  in  writing  letters.  She 
is  gaining  knowledge  by  handfuls." 

From  this  friend  we  have  also  some  account  of  the 
growth  in  her  religious  character  while  at  Byfield. 

"  Within  two  or  three  days  after  our  term  com- 
menced, Mr.  Emerson,  having  prepared  the  way  by 
appropriate  remarks,  requested  such  of  his  pupils  as 
were  professors  of  religion,  or  hoped  they  had  been 
renewed  by  divine  grace,  to  remain  in  the  seminary 
hall  during  the  time  of  recess,  that  he  might  see  them 
a  few  minutes  by  themselves.  He  then  endeavored  to 
show  them  their  responsibility  as  the  representatives 
of  Christ  in  that  school  j  the  importance  of  their 
growing  in  grace  while  there ;  and  the  propriety  of 
their  exerting  an  influence  in  favor  of  the  Redeemer 
and  his  cause  upon  their  fellow-pupils.  He  then  ap- 
pointed a  weekly  prayer-meeting,  which  he  requested 
they  would  all  uniformly  attend.  This  caused  Mary 
much  agitation  of  mind,  for  she  felt  that  here  was  a 
dividing  line.  She  must  now  class  herself  with  the 
children  of  God,  or  with  those  who  knew  him  not. 
She  said  that  she  had  too  long  denied  Christ  before 
men,  while  her  conscience  testified  that  the  friends  of 


30  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

God  were  her  chosen  companions.  After  much  delib- 
eration, she  concluded  to  attend  the  meeting.  She 
never  regretted  her  decision,  although  for  some  weeks 
she  was  so  entirely  absorbed  in  her  studies  as  to 
neglect  many  Christian  duties.  There  was  unusual 
interest  in  religious  subjects,  and  Mary's  mind  became 
deeply  exercised.  She  said  she  had  neglected  duty, 
yielded  to  temptation,  and  that  her  unbounded  thirst 
for  knowledge  had  so  absorbed  every  feeling,  that 
there  was  no  room  left  for  a  Saviour's  love.  "  Oh  my 
leanness,  my  leanness  1"  was  her  bitter  cry.  In  the 
course  of  a  few  days  she  became  more  calm.  As  there 
was  no  family  worship  under  the  roof  where  we 
boarded,  she  proposed  that  we  should  invite  one  of 
the  young  ladies  of  the  family  who  was  serious,  to 
unite  with  us  in  our  evening  devotions.  From  this 
time  Mary  was  faithful  in  conversing  with  her  and 
her  sisters ;  and  she  seemed,  in  her  daily  pursuits,  to 
do  all  heartily  as  unto  the  Lord." 

The  following  letters  to  her  mother  and  sisters 
should  here  find  a  place : 

To  her  Mother. 

"Btfikld,  May  13, 1821. 
"I  feel  that  this  summer  is,  or  ought  to  be,  pecul- 
iarly profitable  to  me.  Much  depends  on  it.  Such  a 
spirit  of  piety  is  mingled  with  all  Mr.  Emerson's  in- 
structions, that  the  one  thing  needful  is  daily  impress- 
ed on  our  minds.  From  our  scientific  pursuits  he  is 
ever  ready  to  draw  practical  and  religious  instruction. 
Oh  my  mother,  I  know  you  would  be  delighted  to 
witness  our  devotional  exercises,  both  morning  and 
evening,  to  hear  him  read  and  explain  the  Scriptures, 


AT  BYFIELD.  31 

to  hear  such  pious  counsel  from  his  lips,  and  to  unite 
with  him  in  his  fervent  prayers  at  the  throne  of  grace 
in  behalf  of  his  scholars.  He  renders  every  recitation 
attractive.  Never  have  I  attended  one  from  which  I 
might  not  gain  valuable  information,  either  scientific, 
moral,  or  religious.  We  have  Sabbath  lessons  to 
recite  Monday  morning. 

"  You  ask  if  I  am  contented,  and  if  I  am  satisfied 
with  my  school.  I  am  perfectly  so.  I  can  complain 
of  nothing  but  myself." 

To  the  same. 

"July  21, 1821. 
"  Each  passing  day  carries  my  heart  home  to  you, 
my  dear  parent,  and  all  my  other  friends,  till  I  can 
no  longer  refrain  from  writing.  Did  you  know  how 
much  my  heart  dwells  on  her  who  loves  me  with  a 
mother's  love,  some  of  you,  ere  this,  would  have  filled 
a  sheet  for  my  perusal.  I  long  to  see  you  ;  but  I  will 
suppress  my  tender  emotions,  while  I  have  recourse 
to  my  slow,  feeble  pen,  as  a  poor  substitute  for  the 
rapid  conversation  at  the  meeting  hour  of  a  mother 
and  daughter — conversation  which  stops  not  for 
thoughts.  Recently  I  have  thought  more  of  you 
than  ever,  and  there  has  been  a  reason.  Dear  mother, 
could  you  in  imagination  have  visited  Byfield  this 
week,  and  have  had  presented  to  your  view  a  true 
picture  of  the  passing  scene,  your  heart  would  have 
risen  in  gratitude  to  Him  who  is  able  to  soften  the 
hardest  heart,  and  arouse  the  most  stupid  mind.  We 
have  a  female  prayer-meeting  on  Saturday  evenings, 
termed  '  the  seminary  concert,'  for  those  members  of 
the  school  who  dare  to  hope  that  they  have  an  inter- 


82  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

est  at  the  throne  of  grace ;  and  these  constitute  about 
half  our  number.  This  has  been  regularly  attended 
ever  since  the  establishment  of  the  seminary.  Four 
or  five  weeks  ago,  it  began  to  be  an  inquiry  with 
many,  what  they  should  do  for  the  salvation  of  their 
own  souls  and  the  souls  of  others.  Even  eight  or 
nine  weeks  since,  as  I  was  conversing  with  Miss 

D ,  a  young  lady  whom  I  mentioned  to  you  as 

designed  for  a  mission  to  Jerusalem,  she  expressed 
great  anxiety  for  those  who  had  no  hope  ;  observing 
that  she  thought  Christians  had  much  to  do,  and  that 
their  situation  here  as  school  associates  gave  them  a 
peculiar  advantage.  Her  observations  made  some 
impression  on  my  mind,  but  on  my  heart  I  fear. such 
impressions  are  mostly  '  like  the  morning  cloud  and 
early  dew.'  With  many  other  excellences,  I  believe 
she  is  eminently  pious  ;  and  I  hope  she  will  be  an 
instrument  of  much  good  in  her  anticipated  situation. 
An  increasing  anxiety  for  a  revival  in  the  seminary 
began  to  prevail.  I  believe  that  in  this  respect  Mr. 
Emerson  has  been  highly  blessed  in  his  school.  I 
cannot  but  think  it  has  been  owing,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure, to  his  excellent  instruction,  together  with  the 
influence  of  his  pupils,  a  great  number  of  whom  are 
pious.  All  at  this  time  appeared  to  believe  that  it 
would  be  their  fault  if  this  stupidity  and  carelessness 
continued  through  the  summer.  Miss  Grant  express- 
ed her  views  at  one  of  our  meetings,  in  the  most 
affecting  manner.  She  feared,  she  said,  that  the  Sav- 
iour was  here  wounded  in  the  house  of  his  friends ; 
that  Christians  in  this  school  were  grieving  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  that  the  state  of  their  hearts  presented  obsta- 


AT  BYFIELD.  33 

cles  to  his  special  presence  and  work.  The  solemnity, 
affection,  and  tender  solicitude  with  which  she  uttered 
these  remarks,  appeared  to  make  a  deep  impression 
on  every  mind.  Since  that,  a  visible  change  has  been 
in  progress  in  the  school.  This  week,  especially,  a 
deep  solemnity  has  been  depicted  on  every  counte- 
nance. Sometimes,  during  devotional  exercises,  or 
while  listening  to  Mr.  Emerson's  instructions  and  sol- 
emn warnings,  scarcely  a  heart  has  been  able  to  re- 
frain from  sighs,  or  an  eye  from  tears.  Four  express 
a  faint  hope  that  they  have  passed  from  death  unto 
life  ;  but  they  hope  with  trembling.  They  feel  that 
there  is  great  danger  of  being  deceived — that  they 
shall  believe  insensibility  to  be  trust  in  God,  and  thus 
sink  down  in  security,  and  finally  plunge  themselves 
'in  everlasting  ruin.  Such  fears  seem  to  me  not  un- 
favorable. Well  may  they  fear,  and  well  may  we 
tremble  for  them,  and  for  all  those  who  are  passing 
this  critical  period,  this  all-important  moment  of  their 
lives.  Should  any  cherish  a  false  hope,  should  any  lay 
their  foundation  in  the  sand,  almost  as  easily  might 
the  dead  be  raised,  as  such  be  rescued  from  eternal 
destruction.    May  this  not  be  the  case  with  me. 

"  This  attention  is  entirely  confined  to  the  semi- 
nary. Imagine  to  yourself  a  little  circle  of  about 
forty  females  almost  excluded  from  the  rest  of  the 
human  family,  all  appearing  solemn  as  eternity. 

"Monday  evening.  We  had  a  solemn  time  yester- 
day. Mr.  Emerson  is  very  solicitous  for  our  spiritual, 
as  well  as  temporal  welfare.  This  morning  he  made 
some  remarks  on  the  importance  and  manner  of  study- 
ing the  Scriptures,  and  the  importance  of  prayer.  He 
2* 


84  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

dailj  gives  us  much  good  instruction.  Friday  morn- 
ing was  a  solemn  time.  Mr.  Emerson  remarked  upon 
the  great  importance  of  improving  the  present  period 
to  secure  our  salvation,  observing  that  a  little  cloud 
had  arisen,  which  was  gently  distilling  a  few  drops  on 
this  favored  spot.  Though  it  was  equally  easy  with 
God,  yet  it  was  not  probable,  when  most  of  us  should 
disperse  and  mingle  with  our  friends  and  companions, 
that  the  cloud  would  follow  us ;  but  most  likely  that 
those  who  had  not  made  their  peace  with  God  would 
gradually  lose  their  impressions,  and  when  they  should 
return,  the  shower  would  be  past.  This  school  term 
closes  to-morrow,  and  the  vacation  is  two  weeks. 
After  earnestly  and  solemnly  inviting,  entreating,  and 
warning  us  not  to  let  the  present  moment  pass,  he 
closed  by  saying,  *  What  you  do,  do  quickly.'  There 
is  great  reason  to  fear  that  this  cloud  will  pass  by. 
It  reminds  me  of  the  favorable  appearance  at  Buck- 
land  last  fall ;  but,  alas,  it  passed  away.  Will  that  be 
the  case  here?  I  cannot  bear  the  thought.  As  we 
are  about  to  separate,  the  members  of  the  seminary 
concert  met  at  our  chamber  after  school  for  prayer. 
We  had  an  impressive  season.  0  my  mother,  will  you 
not  remember  this  meeting  Saturday  evening  ?'' 

To  her  youngest  Sitter. 

"  Btfikld,  August  11, 1821. 
"  I  have  many  facilities  for  improvement,  but  they 
only  increase  my  obligation.  I  believe  I  have  never 
before  realized  the  solemnity  of  living,  so  much  as 
I  do  this  summer.  I  often  think  that,  if  possible, 
it  is  more  solemn  to  live  than  to  die.  What  impor- 
tant consequences  may  depend  on  a  single  word,  or 


AT  BYFIELD.  36 

on  the  most  trifling  deed.  With  how  much  care  and 
deliberation  should  we  regulate  all  our  conduct,  and 
even  our  every  thought.  This  requires  the  most  vig- 
orous exertion  of  all  our  faculties ;  nay,  more,  we  need 
constant  instruction  from  heaven,  and  the  daily  guid- 
ance of  the  Holy  Spirit." 

Miss  Lyon  ever  regarded  her  connection  with  Mr. 
Emerson's  school  as  an  important  era  in  her  life.  She 
remarked,  a  short  time  before  her  death,  that  she  owed 
more  to  Mr.  Emerson  than  to  any  other  teacher.  In 
teaching,  no  less  than  in  learning,  it  is  of  the  greatest 
consequence  to  get  a  right  start,  and  she  always  felt 
she  first  received  that  at  Byfield.  Previous  to  her 
enjoying  his  instruction,  the  intellect  rather  than  the 
heart  had  occupied  her  attention  •  from  him  she 
learned  that  she  ought  to  give  to  each  its  due  pro- 
portion. On  being  asked  about  the  story  of  her 
learning  the  Latin  grammar  through  in  three  days. 
"  Oh,"  she  replied,  "  it  was  at  one  of  those  schools 
where  they  do  nothing  but  study  and  recite;  not  at  all 
so  good  for  the  character  as  Mr.  Emerson's.  You 
just  learned  what  was  in  the  book.  I  traced  out  the 
likenesses  and  differences  among  the  declensions  and 
conjugations,  and  I  could  commit  any  thing  to  memory 
quick,  when  I  was  young ;  and  as  to  the  rules  of  syn- 
tax, they  are  so  much  like  those  in  English  grammar 
that  it  did  not  take  long  to  learn  them.  So  you  see," 
she  said,  "  it  was  no  great  feat,  after  all."  She  went 
on  to  praise  Mr.  Emerson's  school  as  the  one  where 
she  treasured  up  great  principles  of  action,  and  re- 
ceived a  complete  change  in  her  views  of  education. 


84  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

The  school  at  Byfield  was  superior  to  any  Miss 
Lyon  had  attended,  in  the  society  of  mature  and  cul- 
tivated minds  which  it  afforded  ;  in  giving  the  first 
place  to  efforts  for  enlisting  its  pupils  in  the  work 
of  blessing  the  world,  and  in  leading  them  to  adopt 
principles  of  faith  and  action  ;  in  making  the  Bible 
prominent  among  its  text-books,  and  referring  all 
questions  of  truth  and  duty  to  its  decisions ;  and  in 
aiming  immediately  at  the  conversion  of  sinners  and 
the  edification  of  Christians.  Many  there  learned  the 
way  of  salvation,  some  entering  its  strait  gate  under 
the  eye  of  their  heavenly-minded  instructor,  while 
others  treasured  up  his  instructions,  and  months  or 
years  after  they  left  the  seminary,  turned  their  feet 
into  the  path  pointed  out  by  their  beloved  teacher. 

Miss  Lyon's  prodigious  powers  of  mind,  her  docil- 
ity, her  good-will  to  all  about  her,  and  her  unclouded 
temper,  made  her  from  the  first  an  object  of  special 
interest  to  her  teachers  and  companions.  No  pupil 
of  her  own  was  ever  more  industrious,  more  yielding, 
or  more  respectful.  At  twenty-four  years  of  age,  and 
after  having  taught  for  several  seasons,  her  obedience 
and  submission  were  as  implicit  as  she  ever  desired  to 
see  in  her  own  scholars. 

While  her  instructors  took  delight  in  their  pupil, 
and  sought  to  mould  her  wonderful  powers  aright,  she 
in  gratitude,  spoken  and  unspoken,  treasured  up  every 
hint,  and  endeavored. to  put  it  in  immediate  practice. 
With  fear  and  trembling  she  ventured  to  class  herself 
with  those  who  loved  the  Lord  ;  and  in  no  knowledge 
did  she  grow  faster  than  in  that  of  God  and  his  will. 
How  often  have  her  pupils  heard  her  quote  the  pre- 


AT  ASHFIELD.  31 

cepts  and  sayings  of  "my  beloved  teacher,  now  in 
heaven,"  the  style  in  which  she  usually  spoke  of  him 
after  his  removal  thither. 

In  the  fall  of  1821,  Miss  Lyon  returned  to  Ash- 
jSield,  and  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  Sanderson  Acad- 
emy, which  was  then  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Abijah 
Cross.  There  had  been  a  season  of  deep  religious 
interest  in  that  academy,  and  Miss  Lyon  coming  into 
it  directly  from  Byfield,  where  her  spirit  had  been 
quickened,  there  was  an  evident  change  in  her  relig- 
ious character.  She  was  not  then  inclined  to  speak 
to  others  of  the  things  concerning  their  eternal  wel- 
fare, nor  did  she  acknowledge  much  religious  enjoy- 
ment ;  but  she  listened  with  the  greatest  deference 
and  interest  to  religious  instruction,  and  it  is  the 
testimony  of  Mr.  Cross  that  her  influence  was  de- 
cidedly for  Christ  and  his  cause. 

It  should  not  be  understood  that  she  did  not  at 
this  time  converse  with  her  pupils  on  what  would 
generally  be  termed  religious  subjects.  Her  regard 
for  the  Bible  was  so  fervent,  and  her  reverence  for  it 
so  profound,  that  she  would  dwell  on  its  beauty  and 
sublimity  with  deep  interest.  She  would  also  talk 
with  great  delight  of  the  principles  of  natural  relig- 
ion ;  and  when  instructing  in  natural  philosophy, 
astronomy,  etc.,  she  never  omitted  an  opportunity  of 
impressing  on  the  minds  of  her  pupils  the  power,  wis- 
dom, and  goodness  of  God,  as  displayed  in  his  works. 
But  she  was  not  then  in  the  habit  of  bringing  Bible 
truth  to  bear  on  the  minds  of  her  pupils,  and  of  lead- 
ing them  to  feel  personal  responsibility  in  the  great 
work  of  renovating  the  world.     Indeed,  the  desire  to 


88  LIFE  OF  MART  LYON. 

labor  for  Christ  had  not  then  possessed  her  own 
heart  as  it  afterwards  did.  Still,  her  consciousness 
of  reliance  on  him  for  salvation,  and  of  her  obligation 
to  honor  him  by  obeying  his  last  command,  led  her 
openly  to  profess  her  faith  in  him  by  uniting  herself 
with  the  Congregational  church  in  Buckland  in  the 
spring  of  1822. 

Moments  often  occur  in  the  lives  of  individuals 
which  give  character  to  their  whole  future  existence. 
There  were  two  of  these  seasons  in  Miss  Lyon's  life, 
in  which  we  cannot  but  admire  and  adore  the  wisdom 
of  that  Providence  which  led  her  in  a  path  that  she 
had  not  known.  One  was  when,  principally  for  want 
of  success,  she  seriously  contemplated  never  again 
engaging  in  teaching.  She  has  been  heard  to  remark 
that  the  reasons  for  and  against  it  were  so  nearly 
balanced,  that  the  least  circumstance  on  either  side 
would  have  turned  the  scale.  But  she  was  guided  by 
an  unseen  hand,  and  was  induced  again  to  make  the 
attempt.  The  other  was  when  she  was  invited  by 
her  brother,  in  1822,  to  go  to  Chautauque  county,  New 
York,  as  a  teacher.  The  question  then  before  her 
was  one  which  tried  her  exceedingly,  and  was  not 
only  one  of  the  most  difficult,  but  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant of  her  life.  On  the  one  hand  were  the  wishes 
of  her  dear  and  only  brother,  who  had  come  from  a 
great  distance,  with  all  the  anxiety  ho  would  natu- 
rally feel  to  secure  her  return  with  him  ;  the  consid- 
eration of  his  increasing  family,  in  a  comparatively 
destitute  region,  and  her  own  personal  affection  for 
them.  On  the  other  hand  were  tlie  expectations  of 
the  friends  who  had  encouraged  and  assisted  her  to 


**  AT  ASHFIELD.  39 

fit  herself  for  -what  they  thought  a  more  appropriate 
sphere  than  a  new  country,  and  their  increasing  es- 
teem for  her  services  in  that  sphere.  For  a  long  time 
she  hesitated,  and  seemed  to  find  no  relief  in  her  per- 
plexity, save  in  her  flowing  tears.  But  God  opened 
to  her  mind  the  way  she  should  choose. 

Soon  after  her  decision  not  to  go  with  her  broth- 
er, she  was  invited  to  assist  Miss  Z.  P.  Grant — since 
Mrs.  Banister — in  the  Adams  Female  Academy  at 
Londonderry,  now  Derry,  New  Hampshire. 

The  following  letters  will  show  the  light  in  which 
she  viewed  this  invitation. 

To  Miss  Grant. 

"AsHFiELD,  Dec.  1,  1823. 

"  I  will  not  waste  time  in  describing  my  feelings 
on  receiving  a  letter  from  your  own  hand.  I  had  re- 
ceived some  indirect  information  respecting  the  acad- 
emy at  Londonderry  before.  A  few  days  previous  to 
the  reception  of  your  letter,  a  secret  desire  entered 
my  heart  that  you  might  be  connected  with  that  insti- 
tution. After  breaking  the  seal  of  your  letter,  and 
eagerly  running  over  the  contents,  said  I,  '  Is  this  a 
dream,  or  a  sober  reality  ?' 

"I  must  say  something  upon  the  great  question 
before  me,  and  I  hardly  know  what  to  say.  The 
academy  in  which  I  am  now  engaged  is  an  infant 
institution.  The  founder,  Rev.  Alvan  Sanderson,  was 
governed  by  the  purest  motives ;  and  I  consider  it  a 
privilege  to  aid  in  carrying  out  his  benevolent  de- 
signs. Many  of  its  guardians  are  my  friends,  and 
from  them  I  have  frequently  received  favors.  This 
is  the  school  where  I  was  principally  educated,  and 


40  LIFE  OF  MISS  LYON. 

to  which  I  feel  in  no  small  degree  indebted.  It  has 
so  far  been  a  silent  and  powerful  means  of  doing 
good.  The  number  of  pupils  has  usually  been  small ; 
but  I  believe  the  church  will  hereafter  count  some 
able  supporters  which  she  would  not  have  had  if  this 
school  had  never  existed.  Soon  after  I  returned  from 
Byfield,  I  entered  this  school  as  an  assistant.  No 
other  female  teacher  has  ever  been  employed  by  the 
trustees,  and  they  earnestly  desire  to  secure  my  labors 
as  great  a  proportion  of  the  time  as  their  funds  will 
permit.  Besides,  there  have  been  circumstances  which 
have  led  me  to  think  that  my  usefulness  might  be 
more  extensive  here  than  in  almost  any  other  place 
of  equal  importance. 

"Yet  the  inducements  to  accept  your  invitation 
are  great.  It  seems  to  be  a  field  especially  adapted 
to  my  capacity.  The  systematic  arrangement  which 
you  propose  meets  my  views.  Finally,  the  pleasure 
of  spending  the  time  with  you  is  truly  inviting.  If  I 
am  not  deceived,  I  have  taken  some  satisfaction  in 
committing  this  subject  to  God.  If  that  is  not  the 
place  for  me,  may  he  give  you  some  other  one,  who 
will  be  a  useful  assistant  and  a  pleasant  companion. 
I  slept  but  little  for  one  or  two  nights  after  I  first 
heard  from  you ;  since  that  time,  my  mind  has  been 
remarkably  calm.  May  the  Lord  direct  our  course. 
I  cannot,  I  would  not  choose  for  myself." 

To  Mix  Grant. 

"  AsHFiELD,  Dec.  30, 1823. 
"By  the  last  mail  I  received  your  letter.    I  am 
glad  you  have  decided  affirmatively  respecting  Dcrry. 
The  plan  of  that  school  will  require  some  peculiar 


AT  ASHFIELD.  41 

qualifications  in  those  who  are  to  take  charge  of  it. 
The  more  I  think  of  the  plan,  the  more  I  approve  it. 
Should  it  succeed,  the  influence  of  example  would  be 
something.  Public  opinion  in  favor  of  systematic 
female  education  needs  support.  Every  proof  that 
system  is  practicable,  would  add  its  weight  in  the 
scale. 

"  Respecting  myself,  though  the  proposal  did  not 
strike  my  mind  unfavorably  at  £rst,  yet  the  more  I 
think  of  it,  the  more  I  am  inclined  to  decide  affirma- 
tively. The  obstacles  have  seemed  gradually  to  di- 
minish, and  the  favorable  circumstances  rather  to 
brighten  by  examination.  In  relation  to  my  own  per- 
sonal situation,  the  prospect,  since  you  first  wrote  me, 
has  appeared  suflSciently  pleasant ;  indeed,  I  fear  too 
pleasant.  I  tremble  more  than  if  the  path  appeared 
more  rugged.  The  desire  you  have  expressed  that  I 
should  engage  with  you,  has  been  one  means  of  inclin- 
ing me  to  believe  that  my  field  of  labor  is  with  you. 
It  did,  however,  lead  me  to  much  self-scrutiny.  Ex- 
pect not  too  much  from  me,  I  beseech  you.  I  fear 
you  will  be  disappointed.  I  have  a  strange,  rebel- 
lious, wicked  heart.  When  shall  I  be  wholly  devoted 
to  God  ?  I  cannot  trust  myself.  I  find  my  best  prom- 
ises violated,  my  best  resolutions  broken.  The  half 
cannot  be  told." 

At  the  close  of  another  letter  to  the  same  friend, 
she  writes,  * 

"January  15, 1823. 
"Pray  for  me,  that  I  may  habitually  know  and 
feel  my  dependence  on  God.    How  safe  it  is  to  trust 


42  LIFE  OF  MISS  LYON. 

in  God.  How  easily  can  he  give  counsel  and  assist- 
ance in  all  things,  the  smallest  as  well  as  the  greatest. 
And  how  ready  and  willing  is  he  always  to  assist.  It 
would  seem  that  I  have  too  frequently  tried  my  own 
strength,  that  I  have  experienced  too  many  instances 
of  the  particular  guardian  care  and  protection  of  God, 
to  doubt  in  whom  I  should  place  my  trust.  Alas,  I 
have  a  treacherous  heart.  But  our  God  is  faithful. 
The  unfaithfulness  of  his  rebellious  creatures  cannot 
exceed  his  mercy  and  long-suffering.  His  mercy 
endures  for  ever,  and  his  promises  never  fail." 

As  the  result  of  this  correspondence,  Miss  Grant 
paid  a  visit  to  Miss  Lyon  at  Ashfield.  Miss  Lyon, 
having  decided  to  go  with  her  to  Derry,  attended 
Professor  Eaton's  lectures  on  chemistry  and  natural 
history  at  Amherst,  Massachusetts,  that  she  might  be 
prepared  to  illustrate  by  experiments  the  science  of 
chemistry. 

As  the  plan  adopted  in  the  school  at  Derry  was 
the  commencement  of  that  which  was  so  successfully 
carried  out  at  Ipswich,  and  afterwards  at  South  Had- 
ley,  a  few  extracts  will  be  made  from  her  letters  dur- 
ing the  first  summer  she  was  at  Derry,  which  will  at 
once  introduce  us  to  the  operations  of  that  school, 
and  carry  forward  her  personal  history. 

To  her  Mother. 

"  LoNDOXDERRT,  June  5, 1824. 

"  My  health  has  been  much  better  since  I  came 

here  than  it  was  during  the   spring.      My  spirits, 

which  commonly  rise  and  sink  with  my  health,  are 

consequently  very  good.    We  have  a  very  pleasant 


AT  DERRY.  43 

school,  over  sixty  in  number.  There  are  two  assist- 
ants besides  myself,  and  we  all  find  enough  to  engage 
our  whole  time.  So  many  young  ladies  are  collected 
here  from  different  places  to  gain  knowledge,  and 
form  habits  which  they  are  to  carry  with  them  to 
their  respective  homes,  that  it  is  to  us  an  interesting 
spot. 

"  We  hope  a  few  of  our  pupils  love  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  sincerity.  What  cause  of  rejoicing,  should 
others  be  added  to  the  number.  You  will  not  cease 
to  pray  for  us,  my  mother,  that  we  may  be  blessed, 
and  that  we  may  be  made  a  blessing  in  the  world." 

To  Miss  H.  White. 

"  Londonderry,  July  2, 1824. 
"The  regulations  of  this  school  are  such  as  to 
enable  us  to  have  much  system  and  order.  This  reg- 
ular system  is  calculated  to  give  our  pupils  faithful, 
attentive  habits.  They  understand  that  their  course 
is  marked  out,  and  that  whatever  is  assigned  them  is 
to  be  accomplished.  Composition,  you  know,  is  one 
of  the  most  trying  exercises.  But  even  in  this  we 
have  not  had  an  instance  yet  in  which  any  young 
lady  has  been  in  the  least  delinquent.  In  some  re- 
spects, perhaps,  this  school  meets  our  wishes  more 
fully  than  any  I  have  seen.  Miss  Grant  has  adopted 
a  plan  to  prevent  whispering,  which  has  been  very 
successful.  After  leading  her  pupils  to  feel  the  im- 
portance of  being  truthful,  and  stating  facts  as  they 
are,  she  requires  each  to  bring  in  a  weekly  ticket 
with  her  name  attached,  stating  whether  she  has,  or 
has  not,  made  any  communication  in  school  during 
the  week,  either  by  whispering,  or  by  writing,  or  in 


44  LIFE  OP  MISS  LYON. 

any  other  way  equally  suited  to  divert  the  attention. 
We  have  some  young  ladies  who  have  succeeded  in 
controlling  themselves  entirely,  and  probably  none 
who  have  not  passed  some  weeks  without  a  failure  on 
this  point.  Miss  Grant  of  course  would  not  adopt 
this  plan  unless  the  scholars  evinced  a  conscience 
both  enlightened  and  lively  as  to  the  distinction  be- 
tween truth  and  falsehood. 

"  The  prospects  of  this  school  at  present  are  very 
promising.  The  trustees  take  a  deep  interest  in  its 
prosperity.  They  place  great  confidence  in  the  prin- 
cipal, and  are  ready  to  do  every  thing  she  requests. 
The  location  here  not  being  favorable  for  a  winter 
school,  our  academy  is  open  only  thirty  weeks  in  a 
year ;  Miss  Grant  devoting  the  winter,  however,  as 
well  as  the  summer,  to  the  interests  of  the  institu- 
tion." 

To  her  Sister  F . 

" LoNDONDEBBT,  July  7,  1824. 
"  Although  I  am  pleasantly  situated,  and  have  no 
more  cares  and  little  daily  trials  than  I  should  ex- 
pect, yet  it  would  be  pleasant  to  spend  an  hour  with 
one  of  my  dear  sisters,  to  whom  I  could  tell  all  my 
heart.  The  fact  that  no  two  of  our  family,  unless  it 
be  our  brother  and  our  sister  Rosina,  are  spending 
this  summer  together,  awakens  emotions  peculiar  and 
rather  gloomy.  Ever  since  I  heard  of  brother  Moore's 
death,  but  more  particularly  for  two  days  past,  I  have 
thought  much  of  my  brother  and  sisters.  I  have 
seemed  to  review  twenty  years  in  relation  to  our- 
selves. Change  and  revolution,  uncertainty  and  dis- 
appointment, deoijjf^and  death,  are  stamped  on  every 


AT  DERRY.  45 

object.  I  see  this  family,  that  about  twenty  years  ago 
were  prattling  children,  united  and  happy  in  the  arms 
of  their  fond  parents,  now  scattered  over  four  differ 
ent  states  of  the  Union,  and  some  of  them  seven  hun 
dred  miles  apart.  I  see  the  eldest,  in  whom  we  all 
placed  confidence  as  a  counsellor  and  friend,  and  to 
whom  we  are  in  some  degree  indebted,  separated  from 
her  friends,  carried  by  Providence  into  the  lonely 
wilderness,  there  to  pass  her  days  almost  alone  and 
unpitied,  where  no  one  of  us  can  give  her  a  cheerful 
smile  or  a  word  of  consolation.  I  well  remember 
how  much  animation  and  energy  she  possessed,  when 
she  used  to  spend  her  days  in  teaching.  But  over 
her  head  age  has  crept  apace ;  ill  health  has  worn 
down  her  spirits ;  and  to  use  her  own  language,  'sick- 
ness and  trials  have  followed,  till  now  this  terrible 
blow  is  struck.'  Where  now  are  her  buoyant  spirits ; 
where  her  resolution  ?  I  see  another  sister  too,  pass- 
ing through  different  scenes,  and  now  called  to  con- 
sign her  oldest  child  to  the  silent  tomb. 

"  You  wrote  in  somewhat  of  a  gloomy  strain,  but 
I  hope  it  was  only  momentary.  You  will  do  well  to 
endeavor  to  gain  the  confidence  of  your  pupils,  and 
to  make  them  see  the  reasons  of  your  requirements. 
Do  not  say  too  much  to  them  at  one  time.  I  think  it 
best  to  devote  some  attention  to  their  behavior,  even 
if  they  do  not  study  so  much.  If  your  older  pupils 
should  be  disposed  to  trouble  you,  perhaps  it  may  be 
beneficial  to  converse  with  each  one  out  of  school, 
and  entirely  alone.  By  taking  such  a  method  occa- 
sionally, you  may  reach  their  feelings,  and  lead  them 
to  a  right  determination,  when  you  otherwise  could 


46  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYOlf. 

not.  The  good  influence  of  every  well-behaved  pupil 
in  school  is  great.  Endeavor  to  lead  them  always  to 
speak  the  truth,  and  then  let  them  know  that  you  de- 
pend on  their  word. 

"Let  me  hear  not  only  from  yourself,  but  also 
from  my  other  friends.  Separation  does  not  lessen 
the  interest  I  take  in  their  welfare.  When  I  think  of 
the  older  members  of  our  family,  I  also  involuntarily 
think  of  their  children.  I  have  the  same  kind  of  in- 
terest in  their  prosperity  that  I  have  ever  had  for  that 
of  their  parents.  Sometimes  I  feel  that  it  would  be 
a  privilege  to  live,  if  I  could  only  render  myself  use- 
ful to  the  children  of  my  brother  and  sisters." 

To  Miss  Amanda  White,  her  room-mate  at  Byfield. 
"Londonderry,  Sept.  26,  1824. 

"I  am  now  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  'Adams 
Female  Academy,'  Londonderry,  N.  H.  The  plan  of 
the  school  may  be  called  Emersonian,  though  consid- 
erably altered  to  meet  our  particular  purpose.  Miss 
Grant  spent  about  six  weeks  here  last  autumn,  mak- 
ing arrangements  with  reference  to  the  school.  In 
every  part  of  the  plan  I  can  see  her  design ;  conse- 
quently it  is  much  more  easily  executed.  Although  I 
have  the  highest  opinion  of  the  utility  of  Mr.  Emer- 
son's plan  for  young  ladies  of  adult  age,  yet  I  never 
considered  it  fitted  for  a  whole  course  of  education ; 
I  mean,  aa  conducted  when  we  were  at  Byfield.  It 
supposed  too  much  previous  improvement.  The  course 
was  too  rapid  for  ordinary  minds,  and  also  for  such 
as  were  young,  or  but  little  improved.  We  have 
more  classes,  our  course  is  slower,  and  the  increased 
number  of  teachers  will  enable  us  to  execute  our  plans 


AT  DERRY.  4t 

thoroughly.  We  have  three  regular  classes,  denomi- 
nated Senior,  Middle,  and  Junior.  Certain  defined 
qualifications  are  necessary  to  enter  each  of  these 
classes.  Members  of  the  Senior  and  Middle  classes 
can  attend  a  course  of  drawing  and  painting  if  they 
choose.  We  have  also  as  many  preparatory  classes 
as  circumstances  require.  The  young  ladies  are  ex- 
amined, and  are  classed,  not  according  to  the  number 
of  books  they  have  studied,  but  according  to  the  real 
knowledge  they  are  found  to  possess.  We  have  but 
very  few  under  fifteen  years  of  age  who  can  enter  the 
regular  classes.  You  know  that  Mr.  Emerson  attend- 
ed to  many  little  things  in  his  school  which  were  not 
common  in  schools  generally.  Some,  however,  he  was 
able  only  to  recommend,  and  leave  for  the  young 
ladies  to  accomplish  or  not,  as  they  thought  proper. 
The  design  of  Miss  Grant  is  to  have  every  thing  that 
is  proposed  for  immediate  attention  accomplished, 
and  the  teachers  see  that  it  is  done.  Each  pupil,  for 
instance,  is  required  to  write  with  a  pen  of  her  own 
making,  and  no  one  is  allowed  to  request  any  of  her 
mates  to  make  or  mend  her  pen. 

"  In  several  branches  we  use  a  method  commenced 
in  Mr.  Emerson's  school,  and  termed  the  topic  system. 
Subjects  are  selected  from  the  lesson,  which  are  first 
to  be  simply  defined;  and  then  more  or  less,  or  all 
that  the  book  contains,  is  to  be  learned  and  recited. 
I  "  Before  coming  to  this  place.  Miss  Grant  had  tried 
the  experiment,  term  after  term,  in  her  own  private 
school,  of  having  young  ladies  give  daily  attention  to 
lessons  from  the  Bible.  She  has  great  confidence  in 
the  study  of  this  book  for  intellectual  discipline,  as 


48  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

well  as  for  the  guidance  and  control  of  the  heart. 
Before  she  engaged  to  take  charge  of  this  academy, 
she  gained  the  consent  of  the  Executive  committee, 
that,  in  accordance  with  a  deeply-cherished  purpose, 
she  should  be  at  liberty  to  employ  one-seventh  part  of 
the  intellectual  energies  of  her  pupils  in  the  study  of 
the  Bible.  While  examining  the  classes  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  school,  all  the  scholars  were  occu- 
pied daily  in  the  study  and  recitation  of  Scripture 
history.  Every  week  of  the  term,  each  pupil  is  ex- 
pected to  apply  her  inind  closely,  two  hours  or  more, 
to  the  Scripture  lesson  given  out  early  in  the  week, 
and  recited  the  next  Monday  morning.  This  study 
has  excited  more  deep  and  universal  interest  than  any 
other.  Some  now  feel  the  force  of  the  truths  they 
are  learning;  and  many,  I  trust,  will  eventually  be 
made  wise  unto  salvation. 

"I  will  annex  a  few  of  the  topics  selected  from 
Genesis  :  Creation ;  the  Sabbath ;  garden  of  Eden  ; 
tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil ;  tree  of  life ;  the 
serpent ;  disobedience  of  our  first  parents  ;  expulsion 
of  our  first  parents  from  the  garden  of  Eden  ;  Adam ; 
Eve ;  sacrifices  ;  Cain ;  Abel ;  Enoch  ;  wickedness  of 
man ;  the  flood ;  Noah's  ark ;  the  rainbow :  Noah  ; 
Babel." 

As  the  school  year  at  Derry  did  not  include  the 
winter.  Miss  Lyon  returned  late  in  the  fall  to  Buck- 
land,  and  writes  to  Miss  Grant  under  date  of  Decem- 
ber 13: 

"I  ought  to  be  thankful  that  Providence  has  so 
ordered  it  that  I  do  not  spend  the  winter  at  Derry, 


AT  BUCKLAND.  49 

because  I  think  the  privilege  of  seeing  my  friends, 
and  enjoying  more  society,  is  favorable  to  my  health 
and  spirits,  and  conducive  to  my  usefulness. 

"  Rev,  Mr.  Clark,  the  pastor  of  this  church,  has 
proposed  my  taking  a  school  in  this  place,  if  pupils 
can  be  obtained,  and  I  have  concluded  to  do  so.  As 
the  school  will  be  small,  I  shall  not  have  to  make  exer- 
tions that  will  injure  my  health,  and  thus  prevent  my 
usefulness  next  summer." 

This  school  in  Buckland  was  the  origin  of  a  suc- 
cession of  winter  schools  in  that  placp  and  in  Ashfield. 
Many  teachers  of  the  common  schools  in  that  vicinity 
availed  themselves  of  these  opportunities.  They  were 
the  means  of  awakening  a  lively  interest  in  the  cause 
of  education,  and  some  efforts  were  made  to  retain 
her  there  permanently.  The  influence  of  her  school 
attracted  the  attention  and  secured  the  cooperation  of 
the  clergymen  throughout  that  region;  and  the  seed 
there  sown  is  now  bearing  fruit  a  hundred-fold. 

The  following  letter,  written  to  one  of  the  teach- 
ers at  Derry,  gives  some  account  of  this  school,  and 
shows  her  difi&dence  at  this  period  of  her  life : 

To  Miss  c 

"Buckland,  Feb.  21,  1825. 

"  My  dear  Miss  C My  school  here  consists 

of  twenty-five  young  ladies.  Before  it  commenced,  I 
had  some  anxiety  respecting  it.  As  I  possess  not 
much  natural  dignity,  I  foresaw  my  scholars  crowding 
around  the  fire,  some  whispering,  some  idle,  etc.  I 
remembered  that,  several  years  ago?  I  had  a  school  of 
young  ladies  in  this  town,  in  which  there  was  more 

Mary  LjrOn.  3 


60  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

whispering  than  in  all  the  schools  in  which  I  have 
been  engaged  for  the  last  three  or  four  years.  The 
fault  then  was  mine,  and  I  knew  not  but  that  the 
effects  might  be  felt  even  now. 

"At  the  commencement,  I  thought  it  best  to  bor- 
row Miss  Grant's  plan  to  prevent  whispering.  All 
came  into  the  arrangement  except  one  of  the  best 
scholars.  But  after  I  had  passed  a  few  almost  sleep- 
less nights  about  it,  a  kind  Providence  so  directed 
and  guided  her  mind  that  she  came  cheerfully  into 
the  arrangement. 

"  One  pupil  refused  entirely  to  write ;  but  I  was 
assisted  in  leading  her  to  comply  with  the  require- 
ment. Some  other  things  I  could  mention.  SufiBce  it 
to  say,  that  I  have  had  just  enough  of  such  things  to 
give  mo  continual  anxiety ;  but  God  in  his  providence 
has  been  very  kind  to  me.  Many  events  have  termi- 
nated as  I  desired,  when  it  seemed  not  at  all  in  my 
power  to  control  them.  My  school,  in  many  respects, 
is  very  pleasant.  I  have  but  two  or  three  pupils  under 
sixteen  years  of  age.  On  the  whole,  I  think  it  the 
best  school  I  ever  had ;  I  do  not  mean  the  best  in 
which  I  have  been  engaged.  I  have  an  opportu- 
nity this  winter  to  see  the  value  of  what  I  gained  at 
Dcrry. 

"  I  hope,  my  dear  sister,  you  live  near  your  Sav- 
iour, while  I  am  far  from  him,  and  walk  on  in  dark- 
ness. I  hope  you  enjoy  the  light  of  his  countenance, 
and  rejoice  in  the  God  of  your  salvation.  I  do  not 
think  it  favorable  to  piety  to  have  so  much  anxiety 
as  I  have  had  this  winter ;  but  I  would  not  attribute 
my  coldness  to  any  outward  circumstances  ;  I  would 


AT  DERBY.  51 

rather  fear  that  I  have  never  known  the  love  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

After  the  close  of  her  school  in  Buckland,  she 
went  to  Troy,  N.  Y.,  and  passed  her  vacation  in  the 
family  of  Professor  Eaton,  from  which  place  she  wrote 
to  Miss  Grant. 

"  April  1,  1825.  I  wrote  to  Professor  Eaton,  stat- 
ing my  general  'success  and  difficulties  in  experiments 
in  chemistry,  last  summer.  He  returned  an  answer, 
generously  inviting  me  to  his  house,  and  saying  that 
I  should  do  well  to  come  to  Troy,  even  if  I  could  stay 
only  two  or  three  weeks,  as  he  could  tell  me  many 
things  during  that  time  which  would  be  useful  to  me. 
Accordingly  I  packed  up  all,  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
arrived  here  this  morning. 

"I  shall  attend  what  lectures  are  given  to  the 
Rensselaer  school  while  I  am  here,  principally  in 
chemistry  and  natural  philosophy.  I  shall  endeavor 
to  review  the  most  difficult  and  most  important  prin- 
ciples of  chemistry,  in  order  to  avail  myself  of  the 
opportunity  to  gain  the  information  which  I  need." 

To  her  Mother. 

"  Londonderry,  Sept.  7, 1825. 
"Our  school  continues  prosperous  and  pleasant. 
We  had  one  hundred  scholars  the  first  term ;  now  we 
have  ninety-two. 

"We  need  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  more 
than  any  other  blessing.  Most  of  our  scholars  are 
probably  without  hope  and  without  God  in  the  world. 
We  have  here  the  children  of  many  pious  parents, 


52  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

whose  prayers  are  daily  offered  up  for  them  and  us ; 
we  also  have  the  prayers  of  many  others.  Several 
mothers  who  have  daughters  here,  devote  a  little  time 
every  Wednesday  morning,  between  eight  and  nine 
o'clock,  to  supplicate  the  Influence  of  the  Spirit  on 
this  institution.  Will  not  you,  my  mother,  sometimes 
think  of  us  at  that  hour?  May  we  not  hope  for  a 
blessing?" 

To  the  same. 

"  September  25, 1825. 

"  I  have  thought  much  more  of  you  than  usual  for 
a  week  or  two  past.  Although  my  situation  is  neces- 
sarily rather  different  from  what  it  was  in  childhood, 
yet  you  will  not  suppose  that  on  this  account  I  love 
my  friends  less.  I  sincerely  desire  that  I  may  ever 
be  saved  from  neglecting  my  early  friends,  especially 
my  mother,  to  whom  I  am  more  indebted  than  to  all 
others,  except  my  Maker.  When  I  think  of  my  moth- 
er, I  think  of  one  who  ardently  and  unceasingly  de- 
sires my  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare ;  one  to  whom 
I  owe  much  that  I  can  never  repay ;  one  who  never 
forgets  me,  and  never  forgets  that  I  have  an  immortal 
soul ;  one  the  benefit  of  whose  prayers  I  have  long 
enjoyed,  and  whose  desires,  I  trust,  axe  now  every  day 
ascending  to  the  throne  of  mercy  in  my  behalf. 

"  I  have  thought  considerably  this  day  of  the  im- 
portance of  being  prepared  to  do  the  will  of  my  heav- 
enly Parent.  What  is  more  desirable  than  to  have 
such  a  frame  of  mind,  that  the  habitual  and  uniform 
desire  of  the  heart  shall  be,  *  Lord,  what  wilt  thou 
have  me  to  do  V  But  I  find  a  strange  propensity  to 
desire  ardently  those  things  which  would  seem  to  be  a 


AT  BUCKLAND.  53 

peculiar  gratification  to  myself.  I  would  desire  such 
a  frame  of  mind  that  I  might  be  ever  ready  to  say, 
'  Not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  done.'  I  would  not  desire 
any  thing  that  would  not  be  for  the  glory  of  God,  and 
in  accordance  with  the  will  of  my  Saviour.  Some- 
times I  almost  feel  that  I  am  not  my  own ;  but  then 
again  I  find  my  heart  desiring  those  things  from  which 
I  had  hoped  it  was  for  ever  separated." 

To  Miss  Grant. 

"BucKLAND,  Dec.  26,  1825. 

"At  present  there  is  a  little  more  than  usual  relig- 
ious attention  in  this  town.  This  circumstance  pro- 
duces in  my  mind  some  hopes  and  some  fears.  It  adds, 
if  possible,  to  my  responsibility.  The  thought  that 
some  who  were  beginning  to  think  about  their  eternal 
interests,  may  become  so  much  absorbed  in  their  stud- 
ies as  to  exclude  God  from  their  hearts,  is  truly  pain- 
ful. I  hope  I  may  not  be  the  instrument  of  hardening 
the  hearts  of  those  whom  I  tenderly  love.  My  pupils 
appear  very  attentive  to  religious  truth.  Some  are 
thoughtful,  though  I  have  no  evidence  that  any  are 
particularly  serious,  except  those  who  profess  to  love 
the  Saviour.  Two  or  three  of  the  latter  appear  very 
well.  That  heart  must  be  insensible  which  could  not 
feel,  on  observing  the  general  attention  manifest  when 
a  sermon  is  reviewed,  a  Bible  lesson  recited,  ^r  any 
religious  subject  brought  forward.  Perhaps  the  Lord 
may  visit  us  with  his  grace.     In  him  is  all  our  hope. 

"  For  a  long  time  I  have  at  intervals  been  anxious 
about  my  own  state  of  mind.  I  have  felt  that  if  I 
were  ardently  attached  to  the  Saviour,  my  desires  to 
honor  him  would  be  more  uniform.    I  have  hoped 


54  LIFE  OF  MART  LYON. 

that  the  Lord  would  direct  to  means  which  would 
effectually  move  my  soul,  so  that  I  could  no  longer 
sleep  when  reflecting  on  the  cause  of  our  dear  Re- 
deemer. I  have  thought  that  possibly  Providence 
had  brought  me  to  this  place  for  good,  that  this  sea- 
son might  be  profitable  to  my  soul.  But  let  me  not 
depend  on  any  means ;  let  me  depend  on  nothing 
short  of  God.  I  know,  my  dear  friend,  that  you  will 
pray  for  me.  Pray  that  I  may  be  altogether  devoted 
to  the  Saviour,  that  I  may  ever  do  his  will,  ever  hon- 
or his  name. 

"Fourteen  of  my  scholars  board  in  the  family 
with  me.  The  members  of  the  school  in  the  family 
have  a  table  by  themselves.  As  I  was  well  aware 
that  it  would  require  more  than  an  ordinary  share 
of  dignity  to  prevent  improper  conversation  at  meals, 
I  thought  it  was  best  to  introduce  some  entertaining 
exercise.  This  requires  an  effort  on  my  part,  which 
I  had  scarcely  realized.  But  I  find  it  pleasant  indeed. 
I  frequently  think, '  How  cotUd  Miss  Grant  take  care 
of  so  many  last  summer?'  But  I  recollect  hearing 
you  say  that  your  first  schools  were  as  much  your  all 
as  your  one  hundred  pupils  at  Derry. 

"  My  spirits  have  been  unusually  uniform  for  four 
weeks.  I  do  not  recollect  an  hour  of  depression.  I 
consider  this  a  blessing  for  which  I  ought  to  be  thank- 
ful." 

To  Mri.  A.  W.  F 

"Bdckland,  Feb.  20,  1826. 
"I  can  scarcely  believe  I  have  written  you  so  sel- 
dom since  you  have  been  away.    The  truth  is,  for  two 
years  past  my  time  has  been  so  constantly  occupied 


AT  DBRRY.  55 

that  I  now  understand  what  you  mean,  when  you  say 
that  it  is  almost  necessary  to  blind  the  eyes  and  hard- 
en the  feelings  against  present  and  urgent  calls,  and 
calmly  sit  down  to  write  letters  of  friendship.  Be- 
sides, every  thing  which  I  could  write  you  will  receive 
from  other  sources. 

"Your  sister  H assists  me,  and  we  have  a 

pleasant  school  of  about  fifty  members.  I  enjoy  so 
much  that  I  sometimes  almost  fear  lest  I  may  have  all 
my  good  things  in  this  life.  We  have  eleven  in  our 
school  professedly  pious,  and  some  of  them  appear 
very  well.  Some  others  are  particularly  attentive  to 
religious  truth.  I  have  had  a  faint  hope  through  the 
winter  that  this  town  and  my  school  might  be  visited 
by  the  special  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit." - 

The  hopes  expressed  in  the  foregoing  letters  were 
realized,  and  several  under  her  care  there  commenced 
a  religious  life. 

To  her  Mother. 

"Londonderry,  May  20, 1826. 

"  I  hope  my  friends  will  remember  that  I  am  inter- 
ested in  little  things.  It  does  my  heart  good  to  read 
a  page  filled  with  home,  friends,  and  acquaintance. 
Especially  am  I  interested  in  all  that  I  can  learn 
about  my  dear  pupils,  or  rather,  those  whom  I  called 
such  last  winter.  My  attachment  to  that  school  and 
to  that  spot  I  cannot  well  describe.  I  delight  to 
dwell  on  some  of  the  last  weeks  of  that  term.  Those 
days  must  be  numbered  with  the  most  precious  of  my 
life  ;  and  sometimes  I  can  scarcely  believe  that  all  of 
those  scenes  were  real. 

"  I  do  not  number  it  among  the  least  of  my  bless- 


66  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

ings  that  I  am  permitted  to  do  something.  Surely  I 
ought  to  be  thankful  for  an  active  life.  I  hope,  how- 
ever, not  to  be  so  attached  to  activity,  that,  if  health 
should  be  taken  away,  all  my  enjoyment  would  be 
gone.  I  would  rather  so  enjoy  present  favors,  as  com- 
ing from  the  hand  of  God,  that,  should  the  streams 
hereafter  be  cut  off,  the  fountain  might  remain  to  me 
a  never-failing  source  of  enjoyment.  I  would  desire 
ever  to  acquiesce  in  all  the  dispensations  of  Provi- 
dence. I  would  fain  have  it  my  first  desire  to  do 
those  things  which  are  well  pleasing  in  the  sight  of 
God  ;  and  I  believe  I  may  safely  leave  all  futurity  in 
his  hands.  For  this,  my  dear  mother,  I  hope  I  have 
your  daily  prayers. 

"  We  have  a  pleasant  school  of  ninety  pupils,  thirty- 
nine  of  whom  have  been  with  us  before  the  present 
year.  They  are  very  attentive  and  studious.  Only 
a  small  proportion  profess  religion,  or  hope  they  are 
Christians.  At  this  period,  when  so  many  spiritual 
blessings  are  bestowed  on  literary  institutions,  may 
we  not  hope  that  ours  will  be  among  the  favored  num- 
ber ?  Many  Christians,  parents  and  others,  have  been 
interested  for  this  institution.  We  hope  their  prayers 
will  be  answered. 

"  The  young  ladies  are  so  very  attentive  to  Bible 
lessons,  that  I  sometimes  hope  there  are  good  things 
in  store  for  us;  but  my  own  heart  is  so  cold  I  have 
reason  to  fear.  Surely  there  is  no  hope  but  in  tho 
mercy  of  God. 

"  The  intelligence  which  wo  receive  of  the  work 
of  grace  in  Dartmouth  College  is  refreshing.  I  hope 
the  students  from  Ashfield  share  in  the  work." 


AT  DERRY.  6T 

To  her  Sister  F. 

*'  LONDONDERKT,  Julj  4,  1826. 

"  This  day,  you  will  recollect,  completes  half  a 
century  since  the  declaration  of  our  Independence. 
How  interesting  must  be  the  reflections  of  those  few 
who  can  remember  that  eventful  day !  And  to  every 
one,  the  events  in  our  history  must  be  an  exciting 
theme.  Who,  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  fifty  years  ago, 
could  have  anticipated  such  results  ?  It  is  true  that 
Washington,  and  almost  all  Americans  who  lived  in 
his  day,  hoped  for  independence.  But  did  they  an- 
ticipate such  a  nation  as  this  ?  Must  not  all  believe 
that  'promotion  cometh  neither  from  the  east,  nor 
from  the  west,  nor  from  the  south ;  but  God  is  the 
judge ;  he  putteth  down  one,  and  setteth  up  another  ?' 
Must  not  all  exclaim,  '  This  is  the  finger  of  God  ?' 
We  wonder  why  we  are  made  to  differ  from  others. 
Perhaps  that  same  Being,  that  could  with  a  glance 
look  through  the  course  of  the  Israelitish  nation,  from 
the  selling  of  Joseph  to  the  coming  of  the  Messiah, 
has  designs  of  mercy  on  all  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
through  the  unparalleled  blessings  which  he  has  be- 
stowed on  this  great  people.  And  have  not  his  deal- 
ings with  our  beloved  country  some  connection  with 
the  causes  which  will  bring  forward  that  happy  day, 
to  which  all  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  are  look- 
ing with  earnest  prayer  ? 

"  Considerable  attention  has  been  devoted  to  the 
celebration  of  the  anniversary  in  this  place;  conse- 
quently we  have  not  been  able  to  continue  the  usual 
exercises  of  the  school.  We  have  had  some  anxiety 
for  our  young  ladies,  as  the  scenes  of  the  day  would, 
3* 


58  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

of  course,  be  rather  exhilarating.  Perhaps  you  will 
wonder  why.  there  should  be  this  anxiety.  I  will  tell 
you,  my  sister.  We  believe  the  Holy  Spirit  is  now 
with  us  by  his  special  operations.  I  think  the  school 
is  in  such  a  state  as  ours  was  last  winter,  about  three 
weeks  before  its  close.  Seven  or  eight  give  more  or 
less  evidence  of  a  change  of  heart.  Several  others 
are  more  or  less  solicitous,  and  perhaps  nearly  half 
the  school  occasionally  inquire  with  interest  what 
these  things  mean.  We  have  about  ninety  pupils, 
and  a  great  variety  of  character.  A  large  number 
continue  thoughtless.  Throughout  the  school,  how- 
ever, there  is  a  propriety  of  conduct,  and  an  interest 
in  Scripture  recitations;  and  when  I  look  on  their 
state,  it  seems  as  if '  the  fields  were  white  already  to 
the  harvest.' " 

To  the  same. 

"  LONDONDKRBT,  Julj  30,  1826. 

"  I  seem  to  hear  you  anxiously  inquiring  about  our 
school.  The  showers  of  divine  grace  continued  to 
descend  after  I  wrote  you,  even  to  the  close  of  the 
term.  But  to  give  you  a  just  account  of  the  work 
would  be  diflficult.  If  you  will  look  back  to  our  school 
last  winter,  you  will  have  a  more  correct  view  of  our 
state  than  I  can  give  you,  as  the  scenes  of  a  few  weeks 
past  have  brought  that  season  vividly  before  my  mind. 
The  attention  cannot  be  considered  so  general  here  as 
it  was  in  my  school  near  its  close  last  winter.  This 
might  naturally  be  expected  in  a  school  like  this, 
where  there  is  such  a  variety  of  character  in  the 
young  ladies.  Their  habits,  education,  views,  feel- 
ings, and  principles  are  so  entirely  different,  that  it  is 


AT  DERRY.  69 

to  be  expected  that  there  will  be  a  great  number  who 
will  feel  that  it  is  all  an  idle  tale ;  a  great  number 
who  will  have  it  in  their  hearts  to  ridicule,  could  they 
but  find  a  favorable  opportunity.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  many  left  the  school  as  thoughtless  as  when  they 
entered.  This  painful  conviction  forces  itself  on  our 
hearts.  But  on  the  other  hand,  we  are  encouraged. 
We  have  decisive  evidence  that  the  Spirit  of  God  has 
been  present  with  us.  The  hearts  of  several  have 
apparently  been  humbled — ^hearts  which  the  power  of 
man  could  never  have  softened.  When  our  term 
closed,  about  twenty  had  expressed  hope ;  a  few  were 
anxious,  while  others  were  just  bcgirining  to  ask  their 
own  hearts  whether  these  things  concerned  themselves. 
In  this  state  of  things  our  pupils  dispersed ;  and^hat 
will  be  the  result  we  know  not.  Revivals  in  seraina- 
ries  of  learning  generally  terminate  with  the  com- 
mencement of  vacation.  Yet  there  are  some  excep- 
tions, and  we  hope  that  our  case  will  bo  one  of  these 
exceptions.  For  this,  I  believe  many  of  our  Christian 
friends  are  praying ;  and  we  hope  their  prayers  may 
be  heard  and  answered.  Should  the  Spirit  leave  us 
now,  it  would  be  mournful  indeed.  Much  the  largest 
part  of  our  school  are  still  without  God.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  term,  eleven  indulged  a  hope  that 
they  loved  the  Saviour,  though  they  were  not  all  pro- 
fessors ;  add  to  these  the  new  plants,  some  of  which, 
we  trust,  will  bear  fruit,  and  you  will  see  how  many 
are  left  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and  in  the  bonds  of 
iniquity. 

"  Do  write  to  me  immediately,  and  tell  me  all  I 
want  to  know.     Give  a  great  deal  of  love  to  our  dear 


60  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

mother,  brothers,  sisters,  nephews,  nieces,  and  all  my 
friends." 

During  the  next  term,  the  religious  interest  was 
deep  and  extensive ;  but  there  is  no  record  of  the 
number  who  received  the  truth  in  love. 

To  the  same. 

"LONDONDEEKT,  Oct.  25,  1826. 

"  The  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  schools  is 
indeed  a  great  blessing.  It  should  call  forth  the 
gratitude  of  Christians,  that  this  blessing  is  more  fre- 
quently and  abundantly  bestowed  than  in  former  days. 
I  trust  you  will  not  forget  my  anticipated  charge  for 
next  winter,  in  Sanderson  Academy,  and  that  you  will 
pray  that  we  may  there  receive  a  refreshing  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord.  The  school  commences  Decem- 
ber 13.  About  the  20th  of  next  month  you  may  ex- 
pect me. 

"  Give  a  great  deal  of  love  to  my  mother.  I  want 
she  should  share  largely  in  this  hasty  letter." 

To  Miss  Grant. 

"AsHFiELD,  March  13, 1827. 
"I  must  confess,  were  it  not  for  my  personal 
attachment  to  yourself,  I  believe  I  should  feel  an  in- 
creasing inducement  to  devote  my  labors  to  the  youth 
of  my  native  hills ;  but  as  it  is,  I  am  not  inclined  in 
the  least  to  give  any  encouragement  of  teaching  here 
in  the  summer,  before  I  shall  have  again  seen  you. 
There  is  an  increasing  interest  on  the  subject  of  edu- 
cation in  this  vicinity.  The  number  prepared  to 
teach  is  much  greater  this  winter  than  last ;  and  the 
demand  from  our  common  schools  is  so  urgent,  that  I 
feel  it  to  be  a  duty  to  endeavor  to  do  something,  at 


AT  DBBRY.  61 

least  one  winter  more.    I  have  therefore  made  engage- 
ments to  return  here  next  autmnn." 

To  her  sister  F . 

"  Derby,  Aug.  22, 1827. 

"  I  love  Miss  Grant's  society  more  than  ever,  and 
I  believe  we  may  love  our  friends  very  ardently,  and 
love  them  according  to  the  principles  and  spirit  of 
the  gospel.  I  also  think  we  may  love  them  in  a  man- 
ner displeasing  in  the  sight  of  God.  May  I  love  in 
that  manner  which  God  will  approve.  I  have  been 
interested  in  the  lovely  and  perfect  example  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Though  he  loved  all  his  own  as  the  world 
loveth  not,  and  though  he  laid  down  his  life  for  his 
enemies,  yet  as  a  man  we  have  reason  to  think  he  ac- 
knowledged some  as  his  particular  friends.  It  is  said 
emphatically,  that  Jesus  loved  Martha  and  her  sister 
and  Lazarus ;  and  among  the  twelve  was  found  *  that 
disciple  whom  Jesus  loved.' 

"My  health  is  very  good.  I  believe  I  have  had 
more  vigor  of  body  and  mind  than  usual  this  summer." 

When  Miss  Lyon  left  Derry,  in  the  autumn  of 
1827,  the  question  was  pending  whether  the  plan 
commenced  in  the  Adams  Female  Academy  should  be 
carried  on  there  or  in  some  other  place.  After  reach- 
ing Ashfield,  she  writes. 

To  Miss  G-rant. 

"  Ashfield,  Nov,  26, 1827. 
"  I  do  ardently  desire  to  continue  with  you,  if  I 
can  be  useful,  even  though  trials  should  beset  us  be- 
hind and  before,  on  the  right  and  on  the  left.     My 
own  trials  from  without  have  seemed  to  decrease  with 


62  LIFE  OF  MISS  LYON. 

my  distance  from  Derry,  while  the  privilege  of  being 
with  my  dearest  earthly  friend  has  increased  in  my 
estimation.  If  I  am  ever  permanently  separated  from 
you,  I  hope  it  will  be  by  slow  and  cautious  steps,  and 
that  I  shall  have  clear  evidence  that  I  am  deprived 
of  this  precious  blessing  by  a  direct  dispensation  of 
Providence." 

To  the  same. 

"AsHFiELD,  Dec.  10,  1827. 

"I  ought  to  be  humbled  in  view  of  my  own  igno- 
rance, and  to  be  led  to  depend  more  entirely  on  God. 
I  know  that  I  have  been  earthly  and  grovelling  in  my 
desires,  that  I  have  been  far  from  the  fountain  of  life, 
and  that  I  have  been  inclined  to  trust  the  creature 
more  than  the  Creator.  Since  I  received  your  letter 
I  have  deeply  felt  that  I  needed  a  heart  conformed  to 
the  will  of  God,  and  I  believe  that  my  distance  from 
the  fountain  of  all  consolation  does  not  seem  quite  so 
great. 

"If  I  should  try  to  tell  you  how  much  I  sympa- 
thize with  you  in  your  trials,  and  how  I  want  to  bo 
with  you,  and  share  in  your  daily  sorrows  and  joys, 
the  attempt  would  be  altogether  in  vain.  I  know  I 
can  do  nothing  but  commit  you  to  God.  May  I  have 
a  heart  to  do  this  daily.  May  I  remember  you  as 
Paul  did  the  Romans.     Rom.  1 : 9. 

"  It  is  a  sweet  relief  to  my  mind  that  you  have 
a  Father  in  heaven,  and  I  do  believe  that  all  things 
will  work  together  for  your  good,  though  the  way  in 
which  this  is  to  bo  effected  may  seem  to  us  very  un- 
desirable. You  may  not  be  saved  from  trials,  but  I 
believe  you  will  be  supported  under  them ;  and  after 


AT  ASHFIELD.  63 

all,  I  trust  you  will  find  more  enjoyment  even  in  the 
present  life  than  the  worldling  who  has  no  such  sup- 
port. 

"  When  you  supplicate  the  throne  of  mercy  in  my 
behalf,  pray  that  I  may  love  my  dearest  friends  ac- 
cording to  the  spirit  and  precepts  of  the  gospel ;  that 
I  may  so  regard  and  improve  my  most  precious  bless- 
ings, that  it  shall  not  be  necessary  to  take  them  from 
me  ;  and  that  I  may  be  like  Him  who  when  on  earth 
was  holy,  harmless,  and  undefiled.  You  know  I  am 
prone  to  be  earthly,  and  that  I  need  the  grace  of 
God." 

To  the  same. 

"December  26, 1827. 

"I  fear  that  I  ask  more  for  you  that  is  temporal 
than  I  do  that  is  spiritual.  I  have  been  led  to  in- 
quire whether  it  is  not  very  common  for  my  prayers 
to  centre  on  blessings  which  may  end  with  this  life. 
Three  things  I  desire  for  you,  and  for  these  I  daily 
supplicate  the  Father  of  mercies :  that  you  may  have 
wisdom  from  above  to  direct  you  to  the  best  meas- 
ures ;  that  you  may  daily  trust  in  your  almighty 
Friend,  and  in  him  find  immediate  and  continual  sup- 
port in  every  time  of  need  ;  and  that  you  may  be  sav- 
ed from  overwhelming  trials. 

"  K  you  should  leave  Derry,  my  feelings  are  all  in 
favor  of  engaging  with  you  summers.  If,  however, 
Providence  should  so  direct  that  you  should  think  it 
not  my  duty  to  be  with  you,  probably  a  field  of  labor 
would  be  opened  in  this  region.  But  I  do  not  pur- 
pose to  make  any  provision,  even  in  my  mind,  for  sum- 
mers at  present,  for  I  do  not  mean  to  be  reconciled  to 


64  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

parting  with  you,  unless  I  see  that  I  must.  About 
the  winter  I  am  not  so  confident.  I  have  gone  on 
here  from  winter  to  winter  in  a  regular  and  advanc- 
ing course ;  and  in  scarcely  any  sphere  can  I  expect 
to  be  so  useful ;  but  I  entreat  you  not  to  act  on  the 
idea  that  I  cannot  be  with  you  winters. 

"  "We  have  between  forty  and  fifty  pupils  in  school, 
and  more  are  expected." 

"  Dec.  28.  The  care  I  had  at  Derry  of  two  trou- 
blesome pupils  caused  me  more  anxiety  than  my 
whole  school  this  winter.  I  must  confess  that  I  have 
a  strong  partiality  for  pupils  in  this  region  ;  they  are 
so  easily  guided.  I  ought  to  be  very  thankful  that  I 
have  so  good  a  school,  when  I  must  go  on  without  my 
best  friend  to  counsel  and  comfort  me." 

"Jan.  6,  1828.  For  some  time  I  have  been  en- 
deavoring to  examine  my  past  life.  The  review  is 
sad  and  mournful.  It  is  now  the  twelfth  year  since 
the  thought  first  entered  my  mind, '  Can  these  be  the 
feelings  of  an  unregenerate  heart  V  I  remember  the 
moment  tis  well  as  if  it  were  but  yesterday;  but  since 
then  there  has  been  a  period  of  clouds  and  thick  dark- 
ness. What  an  immense  loss  I  must  suffer  through 
life,  on  account  of  the  misimprovement  of  so  long  a 
period  of  my  existence.  I  humbly  hope  I  shall  finally 
be  saved,  although  as  by  fire ;  but  I  have  no  reason 
to  expect  ever  in  this  world  all  that  spiritual  enjoy- 
ment with  which  I  might  have  been  favored,  if  all 
these  years  had  witnessed  a  regular  advance  in  a  life 
of  faith  and  piety.  Neither  can  I  expect  that  satis- 
faction and  success  in  laboring  in  the  cause  of  the 
Saviour  which  I  might  enjoy,  if  I  had  received  that 


AT  ASHFIELD.  65 

preparation  which  catn  be  gained  by  no  means  but  by 
a  long  course  of  active,  faithful  obedience.  May  I  bo 
enabled  to  improve  the  precious  moments  as  they  fly, 
realizing  that  when  they  are  gone  they  can  never  be 
redeemed. 

"It  seems  to  me  more  and  more  important  that 
the  professed  followers  of  the  Lamb  should  commence 
their  Christian  course  guided  by  the  pure  and  per- 
fect standard  of  truth.  Is  it  not  too  true  that  many 
take  their  standard  from  those  around  them,  and  on 
that  account  live  a  life  which  leads  others  justly  to 
inquire, '  What  do  ye  more  than  others  ?'  During  all 
these  years,  I  know  not  how  many  just  commencing 
a  life  of  godliness  may  have  received  an  impression 
from  me  which  will  be  felt  all  their  lives.  May  I  in 
this  be  saved  from  blood-guiltiness.  But  I  tremble 
lest  even  this  winter  should  bear  witness  against  me. 
You  know  that  I  frequently  feel  that  I  can  do  little 
or  nothing  to  aid  Christians  in  a  life  of  holiness.  In 
this  respect  my  responsibility  is  greater  than  ever 
before ;  indeed,  it  is  so  great,  that  I  know  not  what 
to  do.  Almost  half  of  my  pupils  have  more  or  less 
hope  that  they  are  the  friends  of  the  Eedeemer.  Sev- 
eral have  indulged  this  hope  but  a  few  months ;  in 
some  it  is  like  the  faint  glimmering  of  a  distant  taper. 
But  few  can  be  considered  established  Christians ; 
and  of  scarcely  any  have  I  much  evidence  that  they 
possess  deep  feeling  and  a  lively  faith.  Here  we  are ; 
what  shall  we  do ?  What  can  we  do?  The  influence 
of  these  on  each  other,  the  influence  from  absorbing 
studies,  and  that  which  I  may  exert,  may  produce  an 
impression  which  shall  affect  their  whole  lives.   These 


66  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYOTN. 

precious  ^ouls  have  been  sent  her€  by  the  providence 
of  God ;  but  what  to  do  I  know  not.  I  am  weaker 
than  weakness  itself,  and  my  wisdom  is  altogether 
folly.  May  I  be  more  and  more  sensible  of  the  pre- 
ciousness  of  the  direction,  "  If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom, 
let  him  ask  of  God.' " 

"Jan.  8.  I  hope  you  will  never  fear  lest  your 
letters  should  increase  my  solicitude  for  you  ;  for  the 
reverse  is  always  the  effect.  The  more  definitely  I 
know  all  about  you,  the  less  difficult  I  find  it  to  avoid 
that  restlessness  which  I  always  find  so  unprofitable. 
What  you  have  written  to  me,  from  week  to  week, 
has  been  useful  as  well  as  gratifying.  Sometimes, 
when  I  have  been  reperusing  your  letters,  sentence 
by  sentence,  to  see  if  there  was  not  some  idea  express- 
ed or  implied  which  I  did  not  at  first  apprehend,  I 
have  thought  it  would  be  well  for  me  to  read  my 
Bible  with  like  care." 

"Feb.  12.  The  privilege  of  laboring  is  to  me 
more  and  more  precious.  I  would  not  choose  the 
spot.  I  would  not  choose  the  circumstances.  To  be 
able  to  do  something,  is  a  privilege  of  which  I  am 
altogether  unworthy.  Should  I  be  laid  aside,  as  a 
useless  servant,  it  would  be  just.  I  would  humbly 
seek  that  I  may  bo  permitted  to  labor  faithfully  and 
successfully,  that  I  may  be  saved  from  those  tempta- 
tions which  my  feeble  heart  cannot  withstand,  and 
that  I  may  be  blessed  with  whatever  may  be  desira- 
ble for  health  of  body  and  health  of  mind,  and  for 
general  usefulness.  For  little  else  of  this  world  do 
I  feel  at  present  that  I  ought  to  ask.  May  I  be  the 
Lord's,  spirit  and  soul  and  body." 


AT  ASHFIELD.  61 

It  was  at  about  this  period  of  Miss  Lyon's  life, 
that  she  came  to  a  settled  purpose  that,  however 
distrustful  she  might  be  of  her  own  good  estate,  she 
would  spare  no  effort  for  the  salvation  of  others.  Her 
prevailing  fear  had  been,  that  she  loved  human  sci- 
ence more  than  divine  truth.  Her  mind,  she  often  said, 
was  of  such  a  cast,  that  she  could  not  look  for  much 
religious  fervor  or  enjoyment.  She  often  remarked 
to  her  intimate  friend  and  religious  adviser,  "  I  think 
it  very  doubtful  whether  I  ever  see  heaven  myself, 
but  I  mean  to  do  all  in  my  power  to  prepare  others 
for  that  blessed  world.  It  will  be  a  comfort  to  think 
that  there  are  souls  among  the  saved  whom  I  helped 
to  draw  from  the  dreadful  pit." 

Committing  the  salvation  of  her  own  soul  to  her 
Redeemer,  and  setting  herself  with  a  single  eye  to  the 
work  of  saving  others,  she  advanced  rapidly  in  the 
divine  life.  In  a  few  years  her  feeble  hope  became 
such  an  assurance,  that  she  remarked  to  a  friend,  that 
though  in  degree  her  peace  and  joy  were  to  those  of 
a  saint  in  glory  only  as  the  tiny  pearl  in  a  ring  to 
heaven's  massive  gates,  she  yet  trusted  and  believed 
they  were  of  the  same  kind. 

To  Miss  Grrant. 

"  AsHFiELD,  March  18, 1828, 
"I  have  this  day  parted  with  my  dear  pupils. 
Since  I  last  wrote  you,  my  labors  have  been  greatly 
increased ;  but  that  they  have  been  thus  increased,  I 
consider  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  I  have  ever  en- 
joyed. 

"  "When  our  school  commenced,  I  had  a  faint  hope 
that  the  Lord  would  visit  us  by  his  Holy  Spirit.    But 


68  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

on  viewing  my  own  heart,  I  felt  that  I  had  very  lit- 
tle reason  to  expect  it.  There  I  found  an  apathy, 
chilling  and  distressing.  It  seemed  almost  as  if  tlie 
fallow  ground  could  not  be  broken  up.  I  felt  that  I 
was  taking  on  myself  a  great  responsibility  ;  but 
wliat  to  do  I  scarcely  knew  ;  and  the  little  that  I  did 
know  I  was  very  poorly  prepared  to  perform. 

"  The  first  week  I  made  a  separation  in  tlie  school, 
after  the  plan  that  you  have  generally  practised.  To 
ray  surprise,  nearly  twenty  were  found  who,  in  some 
form  or  other,  indulged  a  hope  that  they  were  the 
friends  of  God.  This  affected  my  heart.  The  respon- 
sibility of  attempting  to  do  something  for  their  spirit- 
ual improvement  rested  on  my  mind  with  an  inde- 
scribable weight.  It  seemed  to  me  that  something 
must  be  done ;  but  I  felt  that  I  could  do  little  more 
than  endeavor  to  ascertain  something  about  them  in- 
dividually, and  attempt  to  commit  them  to  God.  You 
know  that  this  is  a  field  of  labor  which  I  have  gen- 
erally avoided.  I  felt  myself  like  a  little  child,  with- 
out resolution,  without  strength,  without  experience, 
and  without  wisdom.  During  my  lifb,  I  have  done 
very  little  for  the  growth  of  Christians  ;  but  through 
the  mercy  of  God,  I  humbly  hope,  that  during  the 
present  winter,  I  have  been  enabled  to  labor  rather 
more  in  this  field,  and  that  I  have  labored  more  suc- 
cessfully. 

"  For  several  weeks,  my  desires  for  the  impenitent 
were  faint  and  few ;  and  almost  all  I  met,  either  in 
school  or  out,  appeared  to  partake  of  the  same  spirit. 

I  used  to  say  to  Miss  W ,  that  if  the  Lord  should 

visit  this  school,  we  most  always  remember  it  as  one 


AT  ASHFIELD.  69 

of  the  more  wonderful  displays  of  his  power,  which 
he  sometimes  condescends  to  make.  We  would  re- 
count the  scenes  of  Buckland,  and  contrast  some 
who,  from  the  commencement  of  the  term  there,  seem- 
ed  to  pray  the  prayer  of  faith,  with  those  in  this 
school  who  were  the  most  interested  for  the  salvation ' 
of  souls ;  and  we  would  say,  '  There  is  no  prospect  of 
a  revival,  for  this  is  not  the  way  that  God  generally 
works ;'  and  then  my  heart  would  sink  within  me. 
Thus  I  lived  on,  week  after  week,  till  more  than  half 
the  term  was  gone.  But  while  man  looketh  on  the 
outward  appearance,  God  judgeth  righteous  judg- 
ment. I  now  believe  that  the  eye  which  saw  seven 
thousand  in  Israel  who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to 
Baal,  has  seen  the  effectual  prayer  rising  continually 
from  some  hearts  in  towns  around  us,  though  I  knew 
it  not  at  the  time. 

"  The  eighth  week  of  the  school,  Rev.  Mr.  M 

of  H called  to  take  a  daughter  home  on  account 

of  sickness  in  the  family.  At  the  time  he  came  for 
his  daughter,  I  saw  him  only  a  moment.  After  ex- 
pressing a  great  interest  in  the  school  on  account  of 
its  influence  on  society,  and  on  account  of  its  contain- 
ing so  many  teachers  for  district-schools  the  ensuing 
summer,  he  said  that  he  had  been  anxious  for  its  spir- 
itual prosperity.  He  only  said  it,  but  it  found  a  rest- 
ing place  in  my  heart,  and  there  it  has  rested  to  the 
present  time.  I  could  read  in  his  countenance  and 
manner,  that  it  was  not  an  expression  of  common  in- 
terest. It  seemed  suited  at  once  to  encourage  and 
reprove  me,  and  also  to  humble  me  in  the  dust.  I 
hq,ve  since  learned,  in  more  ways  than  one,  that  ho 


10  LIFE  OF  MART  LYON. 

has  undoubtedly  had  great  anxiety  for  souls  here; 
and  I  believe  some  others  have  had  a  like  spirit.  It 
is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  attention  commenced 
among  the  young  ladies  from  his  parish,  and  was  al- 
most entirely  confined  to  them  for  some  time.  It  did 
seem  that  the  prayers  of  this  good  man  were  answered. 
He  has  since  said  to  me,  that  he  had  indeed  been  anx- 
ious for  the  school ;  but  in  the  ardent  desires  of  his 
heart,  he  had  not  been  conscious  of  making  any  selec- 
tion, even  though  he  had  a  daughter  here  without 
God  and  without  hope. 

"  This  daughter  returned,  after  an  absence  of  three 
weeks ;  but  her  father  said  he  did  not  bring  her  de- 
pending on  the  school  to  give  her  a  new  heart.  She 
found  the  influences  in  her  room  entirely  changed. 
Her  three  companions,  young  ladies  from  the  same 
town,  were  all  rejoicing  in  hope.  They  had  been 
ardently  desiring  her  return,  and  now  they  could  not 
see  her  willing  to  reject  the  Saviour.  She  was  imme- 
diately affected ;  but  I  did  not  dare  to  hope,  for  a 
while,  that  it  was  any  thing  but  sympathy.  Soon, 
however,  her  tears  were  exchanged  for  a  solemn  and 
distressed  countenance,  which  bespoke  deep,  heartfelt 
sorrow.  For  a  few  days  her  distress  was  great. 
Though  generally  very  much  inclined  to  converse,  she 
would  now  pass  the  whole  morning,  scarcely  speaking 
a  word;  and  her  companions,  though  possessing  all 
the  joy  and  ardor  of  young  converts,  were  awed  into 
silence ;  and  like  Job's  friends, '  none  spake  a  word.' 
In  eight  days  after  her  return,  she  was  brought  to 
rejoice  in  hope  of  a  blessed  immortality. 

"During  the  whole  winter.  Scripture  recitations 


AT  ASHFIELD.  11 

have  been  uncommonly  impressive,  compared  with  the 
means  used  to  make  them  so.  This  interest  was  most 
manifest  when  the  subject  was  a  solemn  one,  such  as 
'the  mercy-seat,'  'the  thimderings  of  mount  Sinai,' 
etc.  During  some  of  these  still  and  impressive  exer- 
cises, it  did  seem  that  the  effect  must  remain  ;  but  the 
first  recess  would  carry  it  all  away.  It  was  not  until 
about  the  middle  of  the  term  that  I  became  sensible 
that  professing  Christians  were  more  awake,  and  felt 
more  deeply  their  responsibility.  Sometimes  we 
hoped  that  the  mind  of  here  and  there  one,  among 
the  impenitent,  was  not  quite  so  indifferent  as  usual. 
The  first  of  the  tenth  week  I  was  convinced  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  was  indeed  among  us.  From  this  time, 
with  a  very  few  apparent  interruptions,  the  work 
went  forward  with  a  regular  and  increasing  advance, 
till  the  very  last  day.  About  twenty  expressed  hope 
in  the  Saviour,  six  or  seven  left  without  hope,  of 
whom  two  were  not  deeply  affected.  One  of  them 
tried  to  be  interested,  depending  on  her  own  efforts ; 
but  her  efforts  were  in  vain. 

"  The  work  was  very  still ;  so  much  so,  that  many 
in  town  knew  scarcely  any  thing  about  it.  Our  school 
exercises  were  as  usual.  Many  of  our  friends  who 
visited  us  observed  nothing  to  mark  this  as  the  place 
where  the  Spirit  was  operating  so  powerfully,  except 
a  general  stillness,  and  here  and  there  a  deeply  solemn 
countenance.  But  to  us  connected  with  the  school, 
the  work  has  appeared  great  and  wonderful.  We 
have  daily  said  to  each  other,  '  Can  this  be  true  ?'  It 
has  been  carried  on  so  independently  of  means,  that 
we  have  frequently  felt  that  our  best  hopes  might 


ta  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

easily  be  blasted,  and  as  frequently  that  the  Lord 
could  work  and  none  could  hinder.  We  have  all  had 
the  conviction  daily  that  this  work  is  wholly  of  the 
Lord.  The  effect  of  this  revival  on  those  who  in- 
dulged a  hope  at  the  commencement  of  the  school,  has 
been  favorable.  Many  of  them  seemed  to  leave  the 
school  with  a  much  higher  sense  of  their  obligation  to 
labor  continually  for  the  kingdom  of  Christ." 

To  the  same. 

"  AsHFiELD,  April  3,  1828. 
"I  am  not  indifferent  to  enjoyments.  Your  soci- 
ety seems  to  me  a  greater  blessing  than  ever  before. 
If  I  should  enjoy  it,  may  my  soul  be  filled  with  grati- 
tude to  God  :  if  in  his  providence  he  should  deprive 
me  of  this  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  may  I  never 
complain  in  my  heart  of  him  who  does  all  things  well. 
The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done.  My  own  strength  is 
weakness.  I  am  a  sinner,  a  great  sinner.  I  can  have 
no  hope  but  in  the  infinite'mercy  of  God.  Sometimes 
I  do  hope  I  depend  on  him.  But  Oh,  my  wicked 
heart ;  I  dare  not  trust  it.  Still  the  Lord  can  give 
me  pardoning  mercy ;  he  can  give  me  strength ;  he 
can  give  me  submission  to  his  will,  and  a  faithful, 
obedient  heart.  It  may  be  he  will  do  it.  My  daily 
desire  for  myself  is,  that  I  may  know  and  do  the  will 
of  God  ;  that  I  may  live  by  faith ;  that  I  may  have  a 
calm  and  quiet  mind ;  that  I  may  be  a  help  to  you ; 
that  I  may  be  useful  in  your  school ;  and  that,  in  some 
way  or  other,  I  may  be  permitted  to  do  something  for 
the  salvation  of  souls.  I  know  I  am  remembered  in 
your  prayers." 


AT  BUCKLAND.  13 


CHAPTER  III. 

LABORS  AT  BUCKLAND  AND  AT  IPSWICH. 
1828-1830. 

In  the  spring  of  1828,  Miss  Grant  removed  from 
Derry  to  Ipswich,  Massachusetts,  where  a  large  num- 
ber of  her  pupils  followed,  her.  Miss  Lyon,  as  before, 
cooperated  personally  with  Miss  Grant  in  the  sum- 
mer, and  kept  up  her  winter  school  at  Buckland  the 
two  following  years.  The  school  at  Ipswich  was  in 
operation  throughout  the  year. 

Near  the  close  of  her  first  summer  in  Ipswich, 
Miss  Lyon  was  confined  with  a  bilious  fever,  from 
which  she  had  not  entirely  recovered  when  she  went 
to  her  friends  in  Franklin  county.  From  thence  she 
wrote  to  Miss  Grant. 

"November  28, 1828. 

"  It  seems  to  me  more  and  more  that  we  must  ex- 
pect afflictions  in  this  world ;  but  I  think  it  appears 
to  me  more  and  more  too,  that  they  are  no  cause  for 
despondency.  I  feel  that  it  is  safe  trusting  in  God ; 
that  he  is  a  sure  rock,  which  can  never  be  removed. 
I  believe  that  the  blessings  of  this  life  are  very  great, 
and  will  continue  to  be  so ;  and  that  trials  are  trials 
under  all  circumstances.  But  I  think  I  can  faintly 
sec  that  there  is  a  foundation  for  support,  when  this 
world  is  not  made  all  in  all. 

"  I  believe  I  mentioned  to  you  that  my  sister  Put- 
nam and  her  husband  were  both  sick.     My  sickness, 


74  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

and  all  its  attendant  consequences,  seem  to  mo  a  small 
trial,  compared  with  what  I  am  now  called  to  experi- 
ence on  account  of  their  family." 

Miss  Grant  proposed  to  Miss  Lyon  to  assist  her 
at  Ipswich  during  the  winter  as  well  as  summer.  In 
reply  to  this  proposition.  Miss  Lyon  writes, 

"BucKLAND,  Jan.  22,  1829. 

"Had  you  made  the  proposal  contained  in  your 
last  two  years  ago,  I  should  have  had  no  doubt  about 
the  path  of  duty.  But  within  this  time,  I  have  given 
encouragement  of  continuing  in  this  region  winter 
after  winter.  Within  this  period,  the  number  of  the 
friends  of  my  school  has  greatly  increased,  till  now 
there  are  many  who  would  not  justify  my  leaving  this 
region,  except  for  obvious  and  sufficient  reasons. 

"  The  present  necessities  of  this  region ;  the  expe- 
rience I  have  had  in  attempting,  during  five  winters, 
to  accommodate  my  plan  to  the  wants  of  this  com- 
munity ;  the  increased  number  of  schools  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Ipswich,  compared  with  the  scarcity  here ;  your 
abundant  ability  alone  to  form  all  your  plans;  the 
ease  with  which  you  could  procure  experienced  assist- 
ants in  the  winter — lead  me  to  doubt  very  much 
whether  we  should  do  right  to  be  together  the  whole 
year.  In  endeavoring  to  decide,  I  do  not  estimate 
what  I  should  accomplish  with  you,  but  compare  what 
you  would  accomplish  with  my  assistance  with  what 
you  would  do  with  the  assistance  of  other  experienced 
teachers.  This  I  have  considered  a  just  balance,  and 
weighed  in  this,  you  can  judge  as  well  as  1  how  the 
subject  appears  to  me.    Since  I  last  saw  you,  the  im- 


AT  BUCKLAND.  75 

portance  of  this  field  has  increased  in  my  estimation. 
May  we  both  be  directed  from  above. 

"I  have  seventy-four  pupils,  and  Miss  L.  B 

assists  me  this  winter." 

Miss  Lyon  was  nearly  a  year  considering  the  ques- 
tions, "  Where  can  I  do  the  greatest  good  ?  Where  am 
I  called  to  serve  my  Lord  and  Master  ?"  At  Buck- 
land  and  Ashfield,  she  was  surrounded  by  sensible  and 
efficient  young  women,  who  looked  to  her  with  filial 
confidence  arid  respect,  and  who,  in  most  cases,  could 
not  command  the  means  to  go  to  the  more  distant 
and  more  expensive  school  at  Ipswich.  By  them  she 
seemed  to  be  able  to  take  hold  of  society,  as  of  a  sheet 
knit  by  its  four  corners,  and  raise  it  towards  heaven. 
For  them  she  had  given  up  all  elegant  leisure  and 
hours  of  literary  recreation.  Many  of  them  she  had 
pointed  to  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  been  the  instru- 
ment of  opening  to  them,  in  the  certain  future,  the 
gate  of  heaven,  the  entrance  to  his  presence.  Her 
spiritual  children,  her  sisters  in  Christ,  as  they  were, 
could  she  leave  them  to  be  guided  by  other  and  un- 
known hands  ? 

To  Miss  Grant. 

"February  16,  1829. 
"  The  past  week  has  been  an  unusual  time.  I  trust 
it  has  been  a  time  when  many  hard  hearts  have  been 
softened,  and  many  a  proud  one  brought  low.  I 
should  be  glad  to  tell  yow  all,  but  I  cannot  describe 
the  scenes  I  have  witnessed.  It  is  the  Lord's  doing, 
and  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes.  The  rapidity  with 
which  this  work  of  grace  has  been  carried  forward 


76  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

the  week  past,  has  never  been  equalled,  I  think,  where 
I  have  been  permitted  to  be  an  eye-witness.  It  is 
now  just  a  week  since  the  first  instance  of  conversion, 
and  fifteen  are  now  indulging  a  hope,  though  very 
feeble  in  some  cases,  that  they  know  the  grace  of  God 
in  truth.  I  find  it  diflGicult  to  know  how  much  to  press 
study.  I  am  satisfied,  however,  that  it  is  not  best  to 
make  much  alteration  from  the  usual  course.  On  this 
point  I  have  had  the  advice  of  some  of  my  judicious 
friends,  and  this  is  their  opinion.  On  the  whole,  there 
is  not  much  excitement  in  school,  but  all  appears  as 
usual,  and  in  order.  I  have  encouraged  their  coming 
to  me  frequently  and  familiarly.  As  my  room  is  in 
the  same  building  with  the  school,  and  as  twenty-five 
of  the  ptipils  board  here,  my  opportunities  for  private 
conversation  are  very  good.  I  have  had  many  inter- 
esting interviews  with  individuals,  several  since  I 
have  been  writing  this." 

"BucKLAND,  March  2,  1829. 

"As  you  have  cast  on  me  all  the  responsibility  of 
deciding  the  place  for  my  labors  next  winter,  I  have 
now  only  to  tell  you  that  the  matter  is  settled.    I 

have  followed  the  course  of  Rev.  Mr.  W ,  when 

he  could  not  decide  whether  to  go  to  N .    He  did 

not  decide,  but  continued  where  he  was. 

"In  settling  this  question,  I  have  looked  at  the 
situation  of  my  sister's  family,  and  the  probability  that 
my  being  here  might  enable  me  to  render  them  some 
little  service.  I  have  looked  at  the  marked  provi- 
dence that  has  led  me  along  since  I  have  occupied 
this  field.  Gen.  32 :  10,  .and  especially  have  I  reflect- 
ed on  the  spiritual  blessings  bestowed  on  this  school 


-      AT  IPSWICH.  11 

from  time  to  time,  notwithstanding  my  extreme  un- 
worthiness,  base  ingratitude,  unbelief,  hardness  of 
heart,  and  blindness  of  mind.  When  I  reflect  on  these 
things,  I  fear  to  forsake  this  field  of  labor. 

"  There  have  been  no  new  cases  of  seriousness  in 
school  recently.  Still  we  have  evidence  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  has  not  left  us  altogether.  Do  pray  for 
us.  Your  niece  Mary  expresses  some  hope  that  she 
has  commenced  a  religious  life.  I  consider  her  case 
unusually  interesting." 

To  her  Mother. 

"Ipswich,  Sept.  21,  1829. 
"I  have  been  considering,  or  rather  reconsider- 
ing the  subject  of  my  winter  labors.  I  am  more  in- 
clined to  think  that  I  ought  to  'continue  them  here 
through  the  winter.  My  dear  mother,  what  do  you 
think  about  it  ?  At  first,  it  seems  mor*  like  parting 
with  my  family  friends,  than  the  present  arrangement. 
But  at  second  view  the  subject  appears  rather  differ- 
ently. It  is  true  that  I  have  not  generally  favored 
visiting  so  much  as  to  approve  of  the  feelings  and 
conduct  of  some  who  seem  to  think  that  every  thing 
must  bend  to  this  one  object;  that,  however  much 
self-denial  they  might  practise  in  relation  to  others,  if 
it  is  a  mother  or  sJfeter,  every  other  object  must  yield. 
I  would  have  all  contented,  wherever  Providence  may 
place  them,  whether  or  not  they  may  be  favored  with 
the  society  of  father  or  mother,  brother  or  sister. 
And  if  duty  should  call,  I  would  endeavor  to  be  con- 
tented, though  years  should  pass  without  my  behold- 
ing the  face  of  one  near  relative.  With  my  present 
prospects,  I  have  no  need  to  anticipate  this  trial.    By 


78  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

visitiDg  my  native  place  once  a  year,  disencumbered 
of  school  affairs,  I  might  in  a  few  weeks  enjoy  quite 
as  much  of  my  friends  as  I  now  can. 

"  The  religious  state  of  our  school  is  interesting, 
and  has  been  so  for  several  weeks.  The  Spirit  of 
God  is  evidently  among  us,  operating  on  the  hearts 
of  our  dear  pupils.  The  work  is  silent  and  gradual, 
but  the  effects  are  certain  ;  and  that  it  is  the  work  of 
God  there  can  be  no  doubt.  Eight  or  nine  have  in- 
dulged hope  that  they  have  found  the  Saviour,  and 
the  state  of  many  others  is  very  encouraging.  So  far 
the  work  has  been  slow;  but  the  way  seems  all  pre- 
pared by  the  Holy  Spirit  for  richer  an^  more  abun- 
dant displays  of  mercy.  It  does  appear  ^at  the  fields 
are  white  already  to  the  harvest.  The  blessing  seems 
just  ready  to  descend  upon  us.  If  there  is  no  Achan 
in  the  camp,  if  there  is  no  stumbling-block  in  the  way, 
if  there  is  not  a  manifest  and  decided  fault  on  the  part 
of  Christians,  we  shall  probably  see  greater  things 
than  these.  Perhaps  the  Lord  may  put  it  into  the 
heart  of  my  dear  mother  to  pray  for  these  souls  that 
prayer  of  faith  which  God  will  hear  in  heaven,  his 
holy  dwelling-place,  and  answer  on  earth.  The  school 
is  very  attentive  to  general  instruction  on  the  subject 
of  religion,  but  still  there  are  mahy  who  think  little 
or  nothing  on  these  things,  and  care  as  little  as  they 
think. 

"  Give  my  love  to  your  family,  especially  to  Mary. 
When  I  last  parted  with  her,  I  supposed  ere  this  she 
would  probably  be  called  to  know  the  realities  of 
eternity.    May  the  Lord  bless  her." 


AT  IPSWICH.  T9 

The  following  letter  will  show  her  interest  in  in- 
dividual scholars : 

To  Mrs.  Ferry. 

"Ipswich,  Oct  1,  1829. 

"  My  very  dear  Friend — I  know  you  feel  a  deep 

interest  in ,  and  that  your  first  inquiries  would 

be  about  her.  She  possesses  a  large  share  of  our 
affection,  and  her  welfare  will  continue  to  be  a  sub- 
ject of  anxious  solicitude,  and  I  hope  of  our  faithful 
exertions.  She  is  more  than  commonly  engaging, 
and  she  requires  more  than  common  care.  The  in- 
genuousness with  which  she  receives  new  ideas  is  very 
gratifying.  This  is  particularly  manifest  in  gaining 
instruction  from  the  Bible,  whether  this  instruction 
relates  to  historical  facts,  or  to  its  doctrines  and  du- 
ties. She  began  to  think  of  her  own  salvation  nearly 
three  months  ago,  just  before  vacation.  During  vaca- 
tion she  quite  dismissed  the  subject;  but  soon  after 
her  return,  she  began  to  realize  that  in  the  giving  up 
of  seeking  religion  for  the  world,  she  had  greatly  sin- 
ned, if  in  nothing  else.  Since  that  time,  she  has  evi- 
dently experienced  much  of  the  strivings  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Her  feelings  have  been  variable,  but  her  case 
has  been  very  interesting,  and  for  a  few  days  particu- 
larly so.  The  result  we  must  leave  with  God.  "When 
you  remember  yourself  at  the  throne  of  grace,  I  know 
you  will  remember  her. 

"  The  religious  state  of  our  school  is  encouraging. 
Between  ten  and  fifteen  are  indulging  more  or  less 
hope.  Several  others  seem  near  the  kingdom  of  heav- 
en, and  in  many  there  is  an  habitual  solemnity,     f 

"  I  am  to  teach  in  Buckland  again  next  winter." 


80  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

Miss  Lyon's  multiplied  labors,  near  the  close  of 
the  summer  term  at  Ipswich,  in  1829,  the  journey 
thence  to  Buckland,  and  the  care  and  toil  connected 
with  commencing  her  own  school  there  for  the  win- 
ter, together  with  a  severe  cold,  almost  prostrated 
her.  Her  friends,  as  well  as  herself,  saw  that  she 
might  injure  her  health,  and  be  lost  to  the  cause  of 
education. 

Writing  to  Miss  Grant  soon  after  her  school  at 
Buckland  commenced,  she  says  of  these  ills,  "  Perhaps 
they  were  sent  in  kindness  to  convince  my  friends 
here  that  my  health  can  fail." 

When  her  friends  in  the  western  part  of  the  state 
saw  that  she  could  not  with  safety  labor  in  two  fields 
so  distant  from  each  other,  they  urged  her  to  locate 
herself  with  them.  To  this  request  she  had  but  one 
reply — that  she  had  sacredly  pledged  her  assistance 
to  Miss  Grant  for  the  summers. 

To  Misa  G-rant. 

"  Buckland,  Nov.  18, 1829. 

"Though  my  school  is  such  as  to  involve  great 
and  increasing  responsibilities,  yet  some  things  are 
encouraging.  I  have  quite  as  many  of  mature  age  in 
school  as  I  have  ever  had,  and  I  think  quite  as  much 
improvement.  Our  present  number  is  ninety-nine, 
and  about  forty  indulge  more  or  less  hope  that  they 
love  the  Saviour.  Pray  for  us  that  these  may  not  be 
dead,  while  they  have  a  name  to  live." 

"  Nov.  30.    I  have  just  had  an  interview  with  Rev. 

Dr.  P of  S .    He  waited  on  me  to  express  the 

widh  of  the  Franklin  Association  of  ministers,  that  I 
would  continue  in  this  region.    He  took  up  the  com- 


AT  BUCKLAND.  81 

parative  importance  of  my  labors  here  and  with  you. 
I  did  not  succeed  in  my  efforts  to  lead  him  to  look 
directly  at  the  two  important  points  :  one,  the  great 
difi&cultics  of  my  laboring  in  two  places ;  and  the 
other,  that  I  am  pledged  to  you  for  summers.  He 
brought  no  argument  to  prove  that  I  ought  to  labor 
in  both  places,  but  like  many  others,  urged  that  I 
ought  to  labor  here  both  winter  and  summer." 

In  view  of  her  happiness,  her  health,  and  her  con- 
sequent usefulness.  Miss  Lyon  finally  decided  to  unite 
with  Miss  Grant  for  the  two  succeeding  winters  as 
well  as  summers,  leaving  the  question  as  to  the  place 
of  her  labors  after  that  period  for  future  considera- 
tion. In  a  letter  of  December  9, 1829,  communicating 
this  decision  to  Miss  Grant,  she  says,  "  It  is  fully  un- 
derstood that  I  leave  Buckland  because  I  consider  it 
injudicious  to  attempt  to  occupy  two  fields  of  labor 
so  distant  from  each  other. 

"  One  year  ago,  I  should  not  have  supposed  that  I 
could  so  quietly  and  cheerfully  have  decided  to  leave 
this  beloved  field.  The  prospect  of  my  future  labors 
is  pleasant,  but  excites  no  high  anticipations.  Your 
society  will  always  be  to  me  a  source  of  the  highest 
earthly  enjoyment,  but  I  do  not  mean  to  make  it  'my 
meat  and  my  drink.'" 

This  decision  was,  no  doubt,  a  wise  one.  She  had 
won  confidence  and  honor  in  her  own  country,  and 
He  whose  counsel  she  devoutly  sought,  saw  that  it 
would  forward  the  work  which  he  had  raised  her  up 
to  accomplish,  if  she  should  for  a  time  fully  identify 

herself  with  the  Ipswich  school. 

4* 


82  LIFE  OF  MART  LYON. 

To  Mils  Grant. 

"BccKLAND,  Jan.  1,  1830. 
"  My  labors  are  indeed  abundant,  my  cares  almost 
overwhelming,  and  they  continue  to  increase.  I  de- 
vote more  attention  to  individuals  than  formerly.  I 
consider  it  an  important  way  of  doing  good,  especial- 
ly as  this  is  my  last  winter  with  them.  It  is  always 
convenient  to  find  some  one  whom  I  want  to  see,  or 
some  one  who  wants  to  see  me ;  so  that  I  have  not  a 
single  half  hour  on  which  I  can  depend,  from  eight  in 
the  morning  till  nine  in  the  evening.  You  will  say 
that  I  need  more  aid,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  that  I 
have  engaged  Miss  White  for  the  remainder  of  the 
winter." 

To  her  sister  Rosina. 

"BucKLAND,  March  9,  1830. 
"-It  is  now  a  week  since  I  parted  with  my  pupils. 
I  believe  that  my  schools  have  been  more  and  more 
interesting  every  winter,  and  we  all  think  this  has 
been  the  most  so  of  all.  I  have  never  witnessed  such 
an  improvement  in  moral  character,  in  ardent  desire 
to  possess  meekness,  humility,  patience,  perseverance, 
etc.  A  spirit  of  benevolence  has  prevailed  amongus 
to  such  a  degree  that  selfishness  has  appeared  to  most 
of  our  little  community  somewhat  in  its  own  charac- 
ter. We  have  made  it  an  object  to  gain  enlarged  and 
correct  views,  especially  relating  to  our  own  country, 
its  present  state,  its  interesting  character,  its  wants, 
its  prospects,  as  to  what  needs  to  be  done,  what  can  • 
be  done,  what  ought  to  be  done;  and  finally,  as  to 
what  is  our  duty.  Many  intelligent,  refined  young 
ladies,  who  have  been  brought  up  in  the  lap  of  indul- 
gence, thought  they  should  be  willing  to  go  to  the 


AT  BUCKLAND.  88 

remotest  corner  of  the  world,  and  teach  a  school 
among  the  most  degraded  and  ignorant,  might  it  only 
be  said  of  them  by  their  Master,  as  it  was  said  of  one 
of  old,  '  She  hath  done  what  she  could.'  But  more 
than  all,  we  have  been  visited  by  the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Soon  after  the  commencement  of  the 
school,  the  gentle  dews  began  to  descend,  and  con- 
tinued to  increase  until  the  last  week,  when  we  were 
blessed  with  a  plentiful  and  refreshing  shower.  More 
than  thirty  expressed  some  hope  that  they  had  found 
the  Saviour  precious  to  their  souls.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  term  more  than  forty  indulged  this 
hope.  Among  these  there  was  evidently  a  great  im- 
provement in  Christian  character.  It  has  seemed  as 
if  the  effects  of  this  work  of  the  Spirit  must  continue." 

The  success  of  the  beloved  school  to  which  Miss 
Lyon  bade  a  final  farewell,  March  2,  1830,  shows 
what  one  competent  woman  can  do  with  compara- 
tively small  accommodations,  in  a  community  alive  to 
the  blessings  of  education.  In  Ashfield,  she  had  the  use 
of  the  academy  building ;  in  Buckland,  where  she  spent 
the  first  two  and  the  last  two  of  the  six  winters,  her 
school-room  was  a  hall  used  for  social  religious  meet- 
ings ;  and  as  the  pupils  increased,  the  teachers  used 
their  own  rooms  for  recitations.  The  first  winter, 
the  school  numbered  twenty-five ;  the  last,  nearly  one 
hundred.  The  scholars  of  one  winter  were  an  adver- 
tisement for  the  next.  Hiding  herself  in  the  shadow 
of  her  own  loved  hills,  happy  in  her  work,  and  seek- 
ing only  to  do  it  well,  she  and  her  assistant  were  often 
occupied  with  it  twelve  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four. 


84  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

The  school  was  moderate  in  its  expenses ;  the  fam- 
ilies near  by,  sensible  of  its  advantages,  made  every 
effort  to  board  the  pupils,  one  family  receiving  twelve, 
and  another  fourteen.  The  friends  of  the  school  open- 
ed their  houses,  not  to  make  a  living,  but  to  accom- 
modate the  young  women,  who  were  expected  to  wait 
on  themselves  as  much  as  they  could  without  hinder- 
ing the  work  of  the  family.  They  either  did  their 
own  washing  or  sent  it  home.  Tuition  Xv^as  three 
dollars  per  quarter,  and  board  from  one  dollar  to  one 
dollar  twenty-five  cents  per  week.  This  school  be- 
coming the  resort  of  many  who  had  been,  or  expected 
to  be  teachers,  and  Miss  Lyon  aiming  to  fit  them  for 
their  work,  reading,  writing,  spelling,  mental  and 
written  arithmetic,  geography,  English  grammar,  and 
the  Scriptures,  were  made  leading  studies.  Herself  a 
pattern  teacher  in  them  all,  she  showed  every  pupil 
how  to  teach.  After  the  first  winter,  she  introduced 
one  or  two  higher  branches,  varying  the  choice  so  as 
to  meet  the  wants  and  wishes  of  the  former  pupils. 
The  celebrity  of  the  school  in  that  region  was  such, 
that  to  have  attended  it  one  or  more  winters  became 
a  letter  of  recommendation  to  a  candidate  for  teach- 
ing. If  she  had  the  imitativeness,  tact,  or  talent  to 
make  her  scholars  do  as  well  as  she  had  been  made  to 
do,  she  was  sure  to  be  employed  and  to  be  wanted  in 
the  same  district  the  next  year.  Though  the  word 
had  not  then  found  its  way  thither,  it  was,  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes,  a  normal  school. 

The  religious  character  of  the  Buckland  school, 
more  than  any  thing  else,  drew  the  hearts  of  the 
good  people  towards  it.    Daughters  who  went  thither 


AT  BUCKLAND.  85 

thoughtless  and  bent  on  pleasure,  returned  home  seri- 
ous, and  bent  on  doing  good.  The  gentle  influences 
of  heaven  falling  on  the  school,  its  members  were 
turned  from  the  path  of  sin  and  death  to  that  of  holi- 
ness and  life,  till,  to  the  churches  in  the  vicinity,  it 
became  a  consecrated  spot.  In  many  a  working-Aan's 
house,  at  many  a  family  altar,  it  was  remembered 
daily  with  earnest  prayer  and  with  pious  gratitude. 
The  absent  daughter  and  her  youthful  companions 
were  prayed  for  together,  with  hope  and  trust  that 
there  they  might  learn  the  way  of  life.  Ministers  in 
the  sanctuary,  when  they  prayed  for  colleges,  did  not 
forget  the  school  at  Buckland.  Pastors  and  people 
alike  felt  that  there  education  was  truly  a  handmaid 
to  religion. 

The  young  women  gathered  into  that  school  had 
been  trained  to  consider  the  mind  more  than  raiment, 
vind  education  better  than  the  most  palatable  dainties. 
Equally  removed  from  luxurious  effeminacy  and  abject 
dependence,  neither  fearing  the  rich  nor  despising  the 
poor,  they  sought  to  torn  their  time  and  means  to  the 
best  account,  to  make  the  most  they  could  of  them- 
selves for  the  high  purposes  of  usefulness  and  duty. 
Their  minds  and  hearts  were  open  to  receive  the  great 
truths  and  principles  which  Miss  Lyon  revelled  in 
presenting,  and  as  it  were,  infusing  into  the  minds  of 
others.  Becoming  acceptable  teachers  in  that  part  of 
the  state,  they  made  Miss  Lyon  known  as  a  capable, 
efficient,  and  benevolent  woman,  untiring  in  her  efforts 
to  benefit  the  young.  "  Oh,"  said  Miss  Lyon  in  after- 
years,  "  how  I  used  to  enjoy  my  labors  in  the  western 
part  of  the  state  j  and  how  hard  it  was  to  me  to  break 


86  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

away  from  that  beloved  spot.    I  used  to  wish  I  could 
find  some  retreat  in  the  woods  where  I  could  gather 
all  the  young  women,  and  explain  to  them  the  great 
principles  of  benevolence,   and  set  them  to   doing 
good."    What  she  was  able  to  do,  only  revealed  the 
more  fully  what  remained  to  be  done.     She  often 
quoted  a  remark  of  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher :  "  The  wear  I 
and  tear  of  what  I  cannot  do,  is  a  great  deal  morel 
than  the  wear  and  tear  of  what  I  do."     Of  the  fewj 
comparatively,  for  whom  she  labored  there,  she  lived 
to  see  some  eminently  useful.    Their  history  would 
exhibit  the  fruit  of  Miss  Lyon's  labors — fruit  "  whose 
seed  is  in  itself,"  thus  yielding  its  hundred-fold. 

One  of  those  pupils  may  be  referred  to  as  a  speci- 
men. For  six  successive  winters  she  was  under  Miss 
Lyon's  care.  With  her  she  studied  arithmetic  and 
grammar,  geography  and  history,  astronomy  and  chem- 
istry. With  Miss  Lyon,  too,  she  studied  the  Bible,  and 
under  its  light  and  guidance,  sought  first  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  and  its  righteousness ;  and  from  this  early 
choice  she  has  never  wavered.  Her  mother  had 
trained  her  to  habits  of  courtesy,  self-denial,  and  pa- 
tient labor.  There  was  but  little  in  her  external  life 
to  alter,  when  she  subscribed  herself  tlie  Lord's.  Her 
habits  are  all  unobtrusive.  Her  spirit  preferred,  and 
prefers  retirement.  But  she  learned  from  her  teacher 
that  the  business  of  her  ransomed  spirit,  while  on 
earth,  should  be  to  make  this  world  the  better  for 
her  presence  in  it.  Who,  save  the  pupils  themselves, 
can  ever  know  .the  impressive  manner  in  which  Miss 
Lyon  could  say,  "  0  young  ladies,  as  they  bear  your 
body  to  its  resting-place,  may  all  who  have  known 


AT  BUOKLAND.  87 

I 

you  be  able  to  say, '  She  hath  done  what  she  could.' " 
Thus  educated,  and  thus  impressed,  this  beloved  pupil 
of  Miss  Lyon,  many  years  ago,  left  her  father's  rural 
home,  closed  behind  her  that  pleasant  chamber,  so 
comfortably  and  neatly  furnished,  bade  farewell  to 
the  privileges  of  her  New  England  home,  and  took 
up  her  abode  jn  a  western  territory.  Miss  Lyon's 
blessing  went  with  her,  and  the  blessing  of  many  has 
fallen  upon  her  since.  She  became  an  inmate  in  the 
house  of  a  married  sister,  who,  as  to  the  good  things 
of  this  life,  was  far  differently  situated  from  their 
parents  in  the  old  country.  In  a  small  room  of  their 
small  house,  she  opened  a  school  for  any  who  wanted 
instruction.  Fifteen  timidly  came  in.  She  took  them, 
such  as  they  were,  French,  Dutch,  and  Yankees,  taught 
them  what  they  most  needed  to  know,  spent  time, 
energy,  and  pains  upon  them,  as  though  they  had  been 
princes,  and  she  were  to  be  richly  remunerated  for 
her  labors.  Plain  in  her  person,  and  simple  in  her 
manners,  almost  as  much  out  of  sight  as  moles  or 
miners,  she  labored  to  do  good  to  those  fifteen  youth- 
ful minds.  Others  soon  came  in.  The  private  dwell- 
ing becoming  too  strait  for  the  school,  the  next  year 
a  house  was  built  for  its  accommodation.  The  num- 
ber of  pupils  often  exceeds  one  hundred.  Very  many 
of  the  younger  people  of  that  region  have  been  under 
her  instruction.  Her  youngest  scholars  are  children 
unable  to  speak  plain ;  her  oldest,  in  the  winter,  are 
often  masters  and  sailors  of  the  vessels  that  ply  on 
the  lakes  in  summer,  and  these  are  among  her  most 
docile,  studious,  and  agreeable  pupils.  On  the  Sab- 
bath, when  there  is  preaching  in  the  school-house,  it 


88  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

is  her  business  to  keep  her  little  scholars  in  due  order. 
When  they  are  not  favored  with  preaching,  as  well 
as  when  they  are,  the  Sabbath-school  is  held  in  this 
same  school-house,  in  which,  besides  being  the  super- 
intendent, she  has  charge  of  a  class  of  twenty  of  the 
younger  scholars.  Every  one  in  that  part  of  the 
state — for  it  is  no  longer  a  territory — ^knows  her, 
loves  her,  and  reverences  her.  The  man  who  repre- 
sents the  town  in  which  she  lives,  in  the  state  legisla- 
ture, at  this  very  writing,  was  for  ten  years  her  pupil. 
Perhaps  Miss  Lyon  herself,  in  the  same  situation,  could 
hardly  have  been  more  useful  than  this  lady.  A  num- 
ber of  her  school-mates  at  Buckland  and  Ashfield  have 
been  called  to  labor  among  the  heathen  in  lands  be- 
yond the  seas;  and  though  they  may  be  more  con- 
spicuous, they  are  not  more  self-denying,  more  patient, 
or  more  Christlike.  Her  vacations  are  short.  The 
one  room  of  her  narrow  school-house  is  her  dwelling, 
for  the  most  of  her  waking  hours.  When  she  can 
stand  the  additional  labor,  she  opens  it  for  an  even- 
ing school  in  grammar,  spelling,  and  the  like,  and 
among  her  pupils  come  parents  as  well  as  children. 
Some  from  the  old  countries  have  learned  at  this 
evening  school  to  read,  write,  and  cipher.  She  has 
always  on  hand  stockings  to  knit,  or  garments  to 
make  for  the  orphans  and  the  destitute  among  her 
varied  flock.  While  she  is  doing  much  service  for 
her  Master,  chills  and  fever,  toil  and  time,  are  bring- 
ing her  nearer  every  week  to  his  glorious  face.  A 
few  more  years,  and  her  humble  soul,  laying  aside  its 
weary,  aching,  and  way-worn  tenement,  shall  pass  the 
portals  of  heaven,  and  enter  on  its  promised  rest.  . 


AT  BUCKLAND.  89 

What  a  happiness  to  Miss  Lyon,  as  she  looks  from 
her  Father's  presence,  from  the  heights  of  heaven,  on 
the  scene  of  her  earthly  labors,  to  behold  not  one,  but 
many  such  streams  of  influence,  destined  to  deepen 
and  widen  as  long  as  earth  and  time  shall  endure. 
She  has  had  many  equals  in  disciplining  minds  and 
imparting  information;  she  has  had  few  in  training 
characters  for  usefulness  and  happiness.  The  dura- 
ble impression  for  good  that  has  been  made  on  the 
multitude  of  living  minds  brought  under  her  control ; 
the  intellect  unrolled  in  her  presence,  on  which,  by 
God's  grace,  holiness  to  the  Lord  has  been  inscribed 
in  deathless  letters ;  the  hearts  of  immortals,  starting 
on  an  unending  existence,  which  have  been  swayed 
aright;  the  souls  which,  under  the  influence  of  her 
fervid  eloquence,  have  been  kindled  with  zeal  to  go 
and  do  likewise — the  privilege  to  have  been  a  co- 
worker with  God  in  bringing  about  such  results — 
this,  and  nothing  less,  is  the  imperishable  work  of 
her  life.  Its  fruits  must  meet  her,  not  only  when  she 
glances  from  heaven  to  earth,  but  at  every  turn  of 
her  walks  in  paradise.  The  brick  walls,  the  library, 
the  apparatus  at  South  Hadley,  nay,  even  the  cheap- 
ening of  education  to  the  daughters  of  our  country, 
were  but  the  external  conditions  to  this  work,  and  val- 
uable only  as  they  conduced  to  its  accomplishment. 


90  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EXCLUSIVE  CONNECTION  ■WITH  THE  IPSWICH 
FEMALE  SEMINARY. 

1830-1834. 

Having  relinquished  her  own  winter  school,  Miss 
Lyon  gave  herself  exclusively  to  that  of  Miss  Grant 
at  Ipswich.  Her  labors  here  were  varied,  numerous, 
and  important.  She  heard  one,  two,  or  three  recita- 
tions daily,  but  gave  the  most  of  her  time  and  strength 
to  the  duties  of  an  assistant  principal.  The  care  of 
so  mating  scholars  in  their  boarding-houses  and  rooms 
as  to  secure  their  highest  good,  of  classing  them  and 
appropriating  studies  to  each,  and  of  arranging  reci- 
tations, devolved  at  times  in  whole  or  in  part  upon 
her.  She  counselled  the  younger  teachers,  attended 
their  recitations,  kept  order  in  the  seminary  building, 
and  acquainted  herself  with  the  character,  progress, 
and  wants  of  every  pupil.  She  gave  much  general 
instruction,  had  an  open  ear  and  a  quick,  ready  sym- 
pathy for  every  scholar,  and  was  regarded  by  all  as  a 
general  friend  and  adviser. 

The  following  extempore  remarks  will  illustrate 
the  manner  in  which  she  would  introduce  a  new  regu- 
lation, and  lead  the  pupils  to  self-discipline. 

"  Early  rising,  young  ladies,  is  not  rising  at  any 
particular  hour;  for  what  is  early  for  one,  may  be 
late  for  another.  Early  rising,  for  any  individual,  is 
rising  at  the  earliest  time  proper  for  her  under  the 
existing  circumstances.     The  hour  of  rising  should 


AT  IPSWICH.  91 

not  be  decided  on  in  the  delicious  dreaminess  of  the 
half-waking  and  more  than  half-dozing  state  of  one's 
morning  slumbers,  but  the  decision  should  be  made 
when  you  are  up  and  awake,  with  all  your  powers  in 
vigorous  exercise.  In  deciding,  you  must  take  into 
view  your  age.  Young  persons,  who  have  not  fully 
attained  their  growth,  need  more  sleep  than  those  of 
mature  age.  You  must  consider  the  state  of  your 
health.  Feeble  persons,  with  constitutions  made  to 
run  only  half  the  threescore  years  and  ten  allotted 
■to  man,  often  need  more  sleep  than  the  strong  and 
healthy.  Some  allowance,  too,  must  be  made  for  the 
temperaments  of  different  individuals.  Some  require 
more  sleep  than  others ;  but  those  who  need  a  large 
amount  should  take  their  additional  sleep  in  the  early 
part  of  the  night.  Who  was  it  that  said,  *  One  hour's 
sleep  before  midnight  is  worth  two  after  ?'  Yes,  Dr. 
Dwight,  a  man  of  large  experience  and  careful  obser- 
vation. Now,  young  ladies,  you  are  here  at  great 
expense.  Your  board  and  tuition  cost  a  great  deal, 
and  your  time  ought  to  be  worth  more  than  both ; 
but,  in  order  to  get  an  equivalent  for  the  money  and 
time  you  are  spending,  you  must  be  systematic,  and 
that  is  impossible  unless  you  have  a  regular  hour  for 
rising.  If  that  hour  is  five,  and  you  are  on  your  feet 
before  the  clock  has  done  striking,  then  you  are  punc- 
tual ;  but  if  you  lie  five  minutes,  or  even  one,  after 
that  hour  passes,  you  are  tardy,  and  you  must  lose  a 
little  respect  for  yourself  in  consequence.  Persons 
who  run  round  all  day  to  regain  the  half  hour  they 
lost  in  the  morning,  never  accomplish  much.  You 
may  know  them  by  a  rip  in  the  glove,  a  string  pinned 


92  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

to  the  bonnet,  a  shawl  left  on  the  balustrade,  which 
they  had  no  time  to  hang  up,  they  were  in  such  a  hur 
Tj  to  catch  their  lost  thirty  minutes.  You  will  see 
them  opening  their  books  and  trying  to  study  at  the 
time  of  general  exercises  in  school ;  but  it  is  a  fruit- 
less race ;  they  never  will  overtake  their  lost  half 
hour.  Good  men,  from  Abraham  to  Washington,  have 
been  early  risers." 

•  She  kept  on  in  this  lively  strain,  till  she  saw  the 
school  prepared  to  make  a  proper  decision,  when  she 
would  say,  "  Now,  young  ladies,  I  want  every  one  of 
you  to  fix  on  an  hour  of  rising  for  a  week  to  come. 
Be  sure  not  to  fix  on  too  early  an  hour,  for  it  would 
not  injure  your  character  so  much  to  make  a  mistake, 
and  decide  to  rise  at  six,  when  you  might  rise  at  half 
past  five  without  any  injury  to  your  health,  as  to  fail 
of  meeting  your  own  appointment." 

In  the  freshness  of  the  forenoon,  their  minds  un- 
clouded by  overeating,  overstudy,  or  unhealthy  excite- 
ment, the  pupils  would  generally  fix  on  an  earlier 
hour  for  themselves  than  their  teachers  would  for 
them. 

Miss  Lyon  would  proceed  :  "  All  who  have  decided 
on  their  time  of  rising,  for  a  week,  may  raise  their 
hands."  The  irresolute  and  the  sluggish  would  be 
unable  to  come  to  any  decision.  She  would  next  say, 
"  You  may  all  rise ;  all  means  every  one.  Yes,  all  are 
on  their  feet  now.  If  you  have  decided  on  your  time 
of  rising,  you  may  take  your  seat."  The  lovers  of 
their  own  ease  and  comfort  would  be  left  standing, 
while  a  large  majority  of  the  school  were  comfortably 
seated.     "As  fast  as  you  fix  on  the  hour,  you  may 


AT  IPSWICH.  93 

take  your  seats,"  was  the  curt  and  effective  address  to 
those  who  were  still  unable  to  decide.  No  one  could 
sit  down  undecided,  without  acting  a  falsehood,  which 
was  considered  in  the  school  dishonorable,  as  well  as 
wrong.  If  any  were  inclined  to  stand  it  out,  she  was 
patient  with  them,  and  willing  to  stand  as  long  as 
they  did.  When  all  had  signified  that  the  decision 
was  made,  they  were  directed  to  write  down  their 
decision,  and  hand  the  papers  to  her,  or  keep  them 
till  she  called  for  them.  One  of  the  first  remarks  on 
the  succeeding  day  would  be,  "  How  did  you  succeed, 
young  ladies,  about  rising?  You  may  all  stand. 
Those  who  were  up  this  morning  at  the  time  they  set 
yesterday,  may  take  their  seats."  A  very  large  ma- 
jority would  be  found  to  have  kept  their  resolutions, 
and  the  delinquents  could  complain  of  no  one  but 
themselves.  Having  broken  their  own  rules,  and 
fallen  short  of  their  own  standard,  they  could  not  but 
feel  self-condemned. 

The  school  at  Ipswich  continued  to  increase  until, 
in  1831,  there  were  one  hundred  and  ninety  pupils; 
but  as  there  were  not  suitable  and  available  accom- 
modations for  so  many,  the  number  was  reduced : 
first,  by  not  receiving  any  under  the  age  of  fourteen ; 
then  by  requiring  certain  qualifications  for  admission ; 
and  finally  by  limiting  the  number  of  boarders  to  one 
hundred.  On  all  these  pupils.  Miss  Lyon  inscribed 
her  name  and  character  as  inefiaceably  as  she  had  on 
those  at  Buckland  and  Ashfield.  They  went  their 
several  ways  when  they  left  her,  with  the  impression 
that,  for  efficiency,  for  unpretending  goodness,  for 
power  to  direct  and  control  mind,  and  for  skill  in 


94  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

exhibiting  divine  truth,  she  had  scarcely  an  equal 
among  the  daughters  of  men. 

The  following  letter  to  her  mother  gives  us  a 
glance  at  the  religious  prosperity  enjoyed  in  that 
school  during  the  first  winter  she  was  connected 
with  it. 

"April  9,  1831.  In  great  mercy,  the  Lord  has 
"been  pleased  again  to  visit  our  school  by  the  influence 
of  his  Holy  Spirit.  There  is  seldom  a  time  when 
some  one  belonging  to  the  seminary  is  not  apparently 
seeking  the  way  of  eternal  life.  During  most  of  the 
winter,  the  school  has  been  in  an  interesting  state. 
For  several  of  the  last  weeks  it  became  much  more  so. 
Not  far  from  twenty  indulged  a  hope  of  having  passed 
from  death  unto  life.  Our  school  will  soon  be  togeth- 
er again.  I  trust  you  will  pray  for  us,  that  we  may 
again  be  visited  by  a  refreshing  from  the  presence  of 
the  Lord." 

In  the  autumn  of  1831,  after  Miss  Lyon  had  been 
continuously  with  Miss  Grant,  in  the  Ipswich  semina- 
ry, for  a  year  and  a  half,  the  latter  committed  the 
charge  of  the  school  to  Miss  Lyon,  and  sought  the 
restoration  of  her  health  in  a  milder  climate.  Though 
unable  to  resume  her  active  labors  until  the  spring  of 
1833,  the  hope  of  a  more  speedy  return  led  to  a  most 
copious  correspondence  between  these  ladies.  In  this 
Miss  Lyon  found  her  pastime,  generally  filling  a  sheet 
of  folio  post  weekly.  From  these  letters  a  few  ex- 
tracts are  here  given. 

"Oct.  24,  1831.  Rev.  Joseph  Emerson  was  in 
school  this  morning.  0  for  a  multitude  of  such  souls 
as  his.     Could  they  be  scattered  all  over  the  earth, 


AT  IPSWICH.  95 

this  polluted  and  -wretched  world  must  soon  become 
changed.  The  more  I  see  of  the  rest  of  the  world, 
the  more  I  admire,  the  more  I  love  such  a  spirit  as 
his.  What  a  delightful  place  will  heaven  be !  Thanks 
be  to  God,  that  *  nothing  shall  enter  there  that  defileth, 
or  maketh  a  lie.'  Shall  we,  my  dear  sister,  after  pass- 
ing through  this  wicked  world,  and  having  been  so 
severely  tried  with  our  own  evil  hearts — shall  we, 
being  washed  and  made  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  be  permitted,  through  rich,  free,  and  wonderful 
grace,  to  sit  down  in  that  holy  place,  where  there 
shall  be  no  more  pollution,  no  more  pride,  no  more 
selfishness,  no  more  disobedience  to  God ;  where  we 
shall  be  no  more  distressed  with  our  own  sin,  no  more 
pained  with  the  sins  of  others  ?  May  you,  my  dearest 
friend,  be  ripening  more  and  more  continually  for 
that  blessed  home." 

"  Jan.  29, 1832.  I  am  almost  a  stranger  to  lively 
faith  and  sensible  communion  with  spiritual  things. 
Subjects  of  great  anxiety,  I  believe,  I  generally  de- 
light to  commit  to  God ;  and  I  seem  to  have  a  reli- 
ance on  him  which  casteth  out  fear.  But  most  of 
these  subjects  are  more  or  less  connected  with  the 
world.  In  view  of  invisible  and  divine  realities,  my 
mind  is  darkened,  my  perceptions  feeble,  my  heart 
cold  and  stupid.  It  seems  as  if  such  a  low,  grovel- 
ling worm  of  the  dust  could  never  be  fitted  for  heaven. 
"With  men  it  is  impossible,  but  with  God  all  things 
are  possible. 

"  Ever  since  vocal  music  was  introduced  into  our 
seminary,  1  have  had  an  increasing  sense  of  its  great 
practical  importance.    By  our  influence,  and  the  influ- 


96  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON, 

ence  of  our  pupils  on  this  subject,  probably  hundreds 
may  be  benefited,  for  a  succession  of  generations. 
Those  who  have  been  able  to  sing  from  childhood, 
do  not  know  by  experience  the  feelings  which  some 
have  who  cannot  sing.  When  passing  near  the  music- 
room  last  summer,  and  thinking  that  a  large  part  of 
the  choir,  probably,  had  no  more  of  a  natural  voice 
than  myself,  I  found  it  necessary  to  restrain,  with  firm 
determination,  a  rising  murmur.  I  have  sometimes 
felt,  that  I  would  have  given  six  months  of  my  time, 
when  I  was  under  twenty,  and  defrayed  my  expenses, 
difficult  as  it  was  to  find  time  or  money,  could  I  have 
enjoyed  the  privileges  for  learning  vocal  music  that 
some  of  our  pupils  enjoy." 

When,  in  1823,  the  trustees  of  the  Adams  Female 
Academy  at  Londonderry  invited  Miss  Grant  to  take 
charge  of  it,  tliey  stated  to  her  their  design  of  mak- 
ing it  a  permanent  school  of  a  high  order.  Entering 
into  this  design,  and  forwarding  it  all  in  her  power, 
she  had  become,  when  she  left  Londonderry,  exceed- 
ingly interested  in  the  idea  of  a  seminary  which  should 
be  to  young  women  what  the  college  is  to  young  men, 
and  was  full  of  the  earnest  purpose  of  doing  what  in 
her  lay  for  embodying  this  conception. 

Miss  Grant  naturally  conversed  much  with  Miss 
Lyon  on  the  subject  of  the  establishing  of  a  seminary, 
with  buildings,  library,  and  apparatus,  owned  as  col- 
leges are,  where  successive  generations  of  young  ladies 
might  bo  trained  for  respectability  and  usefulness ; 
but  Miss  Lyon  entered  into  the  project  very  slowly." 
"  Never  mind,"  she  many  a  time  said,  between  1824 


AT  IPSWICH.  97 

and  1829,  "  never  mind  the  brick  and  mortar ;  only 
let  us  have  living  minds  to  work  upon." 

Miss  Lyon,  however,  became  convinced  of  the  im- 
portance of  such  a  seminary,  and  entered  into  the 
project,  not  merely  as  before  from  sympathy  with 
Miss  Grant,' but  also  from  her  own  firm  and  deep 
conviction  that  the  thing  was  both  desirable  and 
necessary. 

During  the  summer  of  1830,  after  the  crowning 
success  of  her  sixth  winter  in  Franklin  county,  after 
she  had  decided  to  cooperate  with  Miss  Grant 
winters  as  well  as  summers,  and  her  mind  had 
become  interested  in  the  idea  of  a  permanent  foun- 
dation for  a  school  of  substantial  character,  she  gave 
the  final  negative  to  the  question  of  marrying. 
Weighing  carefully  the  probabilities  of  her  compara- 
tive usefulness  in  wedded  life  and  in  teaching,  the 
latter,  in  her  view,  predominated.  The  occasion  of 
her  decision  was  a  tempting  offer  which  she  thought 
held  out  as  good  a  prospect  of  a  life  of  love  and  hap- 
piness as  any  she  could  expect.  When  she  had  once 
decided  on  giving  her  undivided  labors  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  female  education,  it  was  fixed  beyond 
reconsideration.  The  answer  to  any  letter  of  a  par- 
ticular character  thereafter  was  quickly  despatched. 
If  the  bishop  of  all  the  churches  had  thrown  an  apple 
of  gold  in  her  path,  she  would  not  have  stopped  in 
her  race  to  pick  it  up.  But  between  the  day  in  which 
she  sold  the  et  ceteras  towards  beginning  housekeep- 
ing which  she  had  collected,  like  her  sisters  before 
her,  and  the  day  in  which  she  made  up  her  mind  to 
give  herself  wholly  to  the  work  of  female  education, 

Mnry  r.yoD.  O 


98  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON 

there  was  time  enough  for  her  to  have  been  sought 
and  won,  if  any  one  could  have  gained  her  respect 
and  love.  A  warm  heart  beat  in  that  broad  chest, 
which,  once  appropriated,  she  would  never  have  wish- 
ed to  recall.  She  was  without  ambition  to  be  known; 
and,  settled  for  life,  she  would  have  moved  along  in 
an  even,  lovely  course,  like  her  noble  mother  before 
her.  Her  life  might  have  been  many  years  longer 
here  below,  but  the  Holyoke  Seminary  would  be 
among  the  things  yet  to  come.  Whatever  were  the 
means  or  the  occasion,  we  cannot  but  see  a  provi- 
dence in  the  fact  that  she  did  not  become  encumbered 
with  domestic  cares,  but  remained  heart-whole  for  the 
work  of  her  life. 

Feb.  4,  1832,  she  writes  to  Rev.  Professor  Hitch- 
cock of  Amherst : 

"  Reverend  and  dear  Sir — Knowing  that  you 
are  interested  to  learn  any  thing  about  the  plan  for  a 
permanent  female  seminary  which  has  been  agitated 
by  some  of  our  friends  for  more  than  a  year,  I  make 
no  apology  for  this  communication.  The  friends  of 
this  object,  I  think,  are  beginning  to  look  upon  it  as 
connected  with  the  prosperity  and  advancement  of 
female  education  in  general,  and  not  simply  as  a  very 
goo(i  thing  to  promote  Miss  Grant's  and  Miss  Lyon'a 
school,  and  facilitate  their  usefulness.  These  local, 
private,  and  personal  views,  I  think,  should  be  far 
removed  from  this  object.  Could  I  but  be  permitted 
to  labor  in  the  portico,  and  spend  my  days  in  clearing 
the  ground  for  that  which  is  destined  to  continue, 
and  to  exert  an  extensive  and  salutary  influence  on 
female  education  and  on  religion  from  generation  to 


AT  IPSWICH.  99 

generation,  it  would  be  the  height  of  my  ambition. 
What  permanent  female  seminaries  are  now  in  exist- 
ence ?  What  one  in  New  England,  of  a  high  charac- 
ter, is  necessarily  from  its  plan  destined  to  outlive  its 
present  teachers  ?  Ought  this  so  to  be  ?  Are  not  a 
few  permanent  female  seminaries  needed  ;  say  one  or 
two  in  a  state  ?  Could  there  be  a  few  of  this  charac- 
ter, designed  exclusively  for  older  young  ladies  pre- 
paring to  teach,  and  soon  to  go  forth  and  exert  an 
influence  in  a  variety  of  ways  on  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion and  religion — a  place  of  resort,  where  those  from 
different  parts  of  the  country  designing  to  spend  their 
lives  in  doing  good,  might  come  together,  together 
receive  instruction,  form  and  mature  their  plans,  and 
exert  over  each  other's  views  and  feelings  an  exten- 
sive and  powerful  influence — would  not  great  good 
result  ?  Might  not  such  seminaries  have  an  extensive 
influence  in  removing  that  false  mantle  of  charity 
which  has  been  thrown  over  a  great  many  little 
schools,  and  great  ones  too,  which  have  to  a  great 
extent  had  the  moulding  of  the  female  character,  but 
which  have  not  been  what  they  should  be  ? 

"The  prospect  now  is,  that  this  subject  will  be 
presented  to  the  public  in  some  form  or  other.  To 
give  the  public  confidence,  it  has  been  considered 
very  important  to- obtain  an  able  board  of  trustees. 
This  business  has  been  on  hand  several  months.  It  is 
now  settled.  Seven  have  been  appointed  as  trustees 
elect,  and  have  accepted,  and  if  the  plan  should  go 
forward,  will  obtain  an  act  of  incorporation,  and  will 
become  the  trustees. 

"It  is  generally  understood  that  the   location 


100  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

should  be  in  Ipswich,  but  some  of  the  trustees  con- 
sider it  somewhat  doubtful  whether  this  is  the  best 
location,  and  will  be  disposed  to  make  inquiry  about 
other  places.  Feeling  that  a  genial  soil  would  be  of 
vast  importance  in  this  first  attempt,  I  have  been 
exceedingly  desirous  that  the  locations  on  Connecti- 
cut river  should  receive  at  least  a  little  attention, 
before  it  is  finally  settled  in  Essex  county. 

"  I  desire  that  the  state  of  feeling  in  your  vicinity 
should  be  tested,  if  there  is  any  way  in  which  it  can 
be  done.  I  can  do  nothing  more  than  to  mention  it 
to  some  of  my  friends  there.  One  reason  why  I  feel 
desirous  that  your  part  of  the  state  should  be  selected 
as  the  location  is,  that  I  think  it  might  afi'ect  the  pub- 
lic in  general  more  favorably,  and  give  a  greater  pros- 
pect of  success.  If  you  think  it  a  foolish  and  imprac- 
ticable scheme,  my  only  request  is,  that  you  would 
commit  this  sheet  to  the  flames,  and  bury  the  whole 
in  oblivion. 

"  Nothing  can  be  done  on  a  subject  like  this,  with- 
out the  attention  of  a  few  benevolent  individuals, 
whose  time  and  talents  are  exceedingly  precious,  and 
whose  hands  are  already  full  of  other  great  and  im- 
portant concerns.  None  but  such  could-  excite  an 
interest  on  this  hitherto  neglected  subject.  None  but 
Buch  could  carry  it  forward.  None  but  such  could 
give  any  hope  of  success. 

"  I  must  now,  my  dear  sir,  beg  that  you  will  not 
look  on  this  subject  in  the  view  of  personal  friendship, 
and  feel  under  a  kind  of  obligation  to  treat  it  with 
some  little  respect.  Unless  it  commends  itself  to 
your  judgment  as  one  which  has  a  high  claim  on  our 


AT  IPSWICH.  101 

benevolence,  I  could  not  ask  you  to  devote  to  it  a 
single  moment  of  your  very  precious  time.  But  if  it 
has  such  claims,  I  would  most  gladly  entreat  all  who 
would  befriend  such  an  object  to  lend  a  helping 
hand." 

After  a  personal  interview  with  Miss  Grant,  she 
writes  to  her,  June  21,  1832:  "The  last  evening  I 
was  with  you,  a  little  cloud  of  discouragement  passed 
over  me,  such  as  I  have  scarcely  before  seen  for  sev- 
eral months.  But  it  was  soon  gone.  Even  before  I 
left  you,  future  duties  seemed  pleasant.  Whatever 
God  may  appoint,  it  is  enough  if  I  can  see  the  path 
of  duty.  I  doubt  not  you  have  learned,  to  a  great 
extent,  to  depend  on  God  day  by  day  for  your  daily 
bread.  This  lesson  I  desire  to  learn.  How  sweet  it 
is  to  be  directed  from  hour  to  hour,  with  scarce  a  ray 
of  light  beyond.  The  darker  the  future,  the  brighter 
often  is  faith,  and  the  more  firmly  do  we  rely  on  that 
arm  which  can  never  fail.  I  have  often  found  myself 
attempting  to  preserve  the  manna  till  morning,  but  I 
have  never  succeeded.  How  wise  is  the  economy  of 
Providence,  and  the  economy  of  grace.  How  should 
we  rejoice  that  we  cannot  lay  up  stores  for  ourselves, 
either  of  wisdom  or  of  faith." 

To  Miss  Grant. 

"Ipswich,  July,  1832. 
"  Last  week  my  labors  were  unusually  fatiguing, 
and  of  course  I  had  a  headache  in  the  morning,  which 
once  or  twice  continued  all  day.  I  had  a  few  difficult 
cases,  imperatively  requiring  much  personal  effort, 
besides  some  labors  in  school  which  demanded  the 


102  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

last  particle  of  my  intellect  and  feeling,  till  I  seemed 
to  have  but  just  physical  strength  enough  left  to  bear 
me  home,  just  intellect  enough  to  think  the  very  small 
thoughts  of  a  little  infant,  and  just  emotion  enough 
to  tremble  under  the  shock,  I  had  been  delaying 
some  time,  for  a  convenient  opportunity  to  make  as 
great  an  effort  as  I  was  capable  of  making,  on  the 
subject  of  conscientiousness  in  giving  in  accounts.  I 
believe  I  have  had  some  feeble  desires,  that  in  this 
and  all  other  thiiigs  every  will  should  be  bowed ; 
that  neither  teachers  nor  scholars  should  have  any 
way  of  their  own,  or  vnll  of  their  own,  but  that  all 
might  be  swallowed  up  in  the  will  of  God.  Pray  for 
us,  that  in  all  these  things  God  may  be  honored,  and 
that  it  may  be  manifest  to  all  that  the  will  of  God  is 
done.  For  a  few  days,  I  have  had  a  trying  languor 
and  stupidity,  especially  yesterday.  How  much  of 
this  I  should  attribute  to  the  fatigue  of  last  week,  I 
know  not ;  but  I  doubt  not  that  much  of  it  may  be 
ascribed  to  my  own  barrenness  of  soul.  On  the 
whole,  I  have  some  reason  to  hope  that  I  am  becom- 
ing a  little  less  worldly-minded.  Pray  that  I  may 
set  my  affections  on  things  above. 

"  Sometimes  my  instruction  in  school  is  so  barren, 
and  so  disconnected,  that  it  distresses  me  all  the  day 
long.  But  perhaps  more  frequently,  I  remember  these 
seasons  with  some  emotions  of  gratitude,  that  in  the 
midst  of  great  weakness,  infirmity,  and  sinfulness,  the 
Lord  is  my  strength  and  my  Redeemer." 

"  Aug.  17.  0  .that  my  soul  were  in  health  as  my 
body  is.  When  my  obtuse  intellect  and  more  obtuse 
heart  can  perceive  the  truths  of  the  Bible,  they  seem 


w  'AT  IPSWICH.         t  103 

exceedingly  precious.  The  vagueness  of  my  own 
mind  is  most  trying,  as  connected  with  religious 
things.  I  often  enjoy  the  anticipation  of  its  not  being 
thus  in  heaven.  "What  a  wonder  of  mercy,  if  I  shall 
at  last  find  a  seat  in  that  glorious  world,  where  the 
will  of  God  shall  be  known  and  loved  and  obeyed. 
If,  amid  so  many  deviations,  so  much  lack  in  our  ser- 
vices, the  little  seasons  of  conscious  sincerity,  when 
we  desire  for  ourselves  and  others  that  we  may  do 
just  what  God  sees  to  be  exactly  according  to  his 
will,  are  so  precious,  how  glorious  must  heaven  be. 
Did  we  know  nothing  more  than  that  God  is  there, 
and  that  his  will  is  done  continually  by  all,  it  would 
be  enough.  Do  you  think  it  any  proof  of  great  holi- 
ness in  those  who  shall  live  in  the  days  of  the  millen- 
nium, that  we  are  taught  to  pray  that  the  will  of  God 
may  be  done  on  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven  ?" 

To  Miss  Q-rant. 

"Ipswich,  Sept.  15,  1832. 

"  A  ietter  arrived  this  morning,  stating  the  death 
of  my  dear  sister  Ellsworth — Rosina,  you  have  heard 
me  call  her.    She  was  a  very  dear  sister  to  me. 

"  This  event  of  Providence  is  peculiarly  suited  to 
touch  the  tender  cords  of  my  heart.  She  was  a  kind 
of  darling  among  us  all,  and  among  others  besides  our 
family  friends.  She  has  left  four  little  sons.  Sister 
Moore,  in  writing  of  her,  says,  'Another  such  blow 
cannot  be  struck  in  our  family.  Among  all  her  nu- 
merous relatives,  none  can  fill  her  place.  Heartfelt 
kindness  marked  her  whole  manner.  It  seemed  to 
reverberate  from  heart  to  heart  the  moment  she  was 
announced.  The  sound  of  her  voice,  like  some  charm, 


104  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

infused  a  thrill  of  joy,  animating  every  countenance. 
Even  now,  I  seem  to  hear  her  sweet  voice,  and  see 
her  animated  smile,  and  the  welcome  of  her  fine  eyes, 
when  lighted  with  joy  on  seeing  her  friends.' " 

To  the  same. 

"October  6. 
"  My  dear  afflicted  sister  Putnam  has  finished  her 
work  and  her  sufi'erings.  It  is  a  great  comfort  to 
me,  that  she  was  so  favorably  situated  during  the  last 
months  of  her  life.  The  care  I  have  had  for  her,  ever 
since  the  death  of  her  husband,  has  been  so  great 
that  it  now  seems  as  if  one  of  the  strong  cords  which 
bound  me  to  earth,  was  broken  asunder.  She  was 
comfortably  situated ;  there  was  nothing  peculiarly 
trying  in  her  last  sickness  and  death  ;  and  now,  I 
trust,  she  is  sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  clothed  and 
in  her  right  mind.  My  mother  has  buried  two  chil- 
dren in  one  month,  five  hundred  miles  from  each 
other." 

To  the  lame. 

"November  3. 

"  In  observing  how  ignorant  the  disciples  were  on 
some  points,  after  they  had  been  with  Jesus  three 
years,  I  was  reminded  of  our  inability  to  determine 
the  way  by  which  Christ  will  be  most  glorified.  How 
easy  it  would  have  been  for  Christ  to  make  them  un- 
derstand that  he  should  rise  from  the  dead.  But  he 
knew  it  was  not  then  best  that  they  should  under- 
stand this  clearly.  How  little  do  I  know  what  is 
best.  I  can  pray,  without  reserve,  that  the  will  of 
God  may  be  done ;  that  the  kingdom  of  Christ  may 
speedily  come  ;  that  the  events  which  Christ  sees  to 


AT  IPSWICH.  105 

be  best  may  take  place,  and  that  we  may  have  hearts 
to  do  the  whole  will  of  God.  But  when  I  pray  for 
particular  blessings,  I  often  feel  that  perhaps  I  know 
not  what  I  ask ;  and  it  is  a  delightful  privilege  to 
refer  the  whole  to  God.  I  hope  that  Christians  in 
this  school  may  be  fitted  to  labor  in  the  field  of  Christ. 
May  the  regenerating  influence  of  the  Spirit  be  given, 
and  may  many  be  born  of  God.  How  few  have  been 
the  hopeful  conversions  the  present  year.  I  was  for- 
cibly reminded  of  this  to-day,  when  I  inquired  who 
had  made  a  public  profession  of  religion.  Almost  all, 
who  hope  they  are  Christians.  0  may  the  Lord 
again  return,  and  may  the  showers  of  divine  grace 
descend  as  in  former  days." 

To  the  same. 

"November  9. 

"  I  feel  so  well  now  every  morning,  when  I  rise, 
that  I  do  emphatically  enjoy  health.  My  daily  busi- 
ness, connected  with  school,  is  peculiarly  sweet  and 
delightful.  I  think  I  never  loved  a  school  so  much 
in  so  short  a  time.  There  is  an  unusual  evenness  in 
my  feelings,  freedom  from  excitement,  or  from  any 
rising  above  the  common  level.  My  cup  is  full  and 
running  over,  and  every  future  labor,  or  future  scene, 
seems  all  that  I  could  desire.  I  often  say  to  myself, 
'  How  sweet  are  all  my  labors ;  how  sweet  is  life !'  In 
what  I  have  said,  I  have  not  referred  to  religious  en- 
joyment. I  find  great  cause  for  daily  repentance  in 
the  sight  of  God.  Though  I  often  walk  in  darkness, 
and  see  no  light,  I  am  not  left  to  wander  long  with- 
out any  light.  In  my  own  experience  I  have  abun- 
dant evidence  that  the  Saviour  is  ready,  not  only  to 

5* 


106  LIFE  OP  MART  LYON. 

forgive  Beren  times,  but  until  seventy  times  seven.  I 
have  been  very  much  interested,  within  a  few  days,  in 
some  parts  of  Scripture  which  treat  of  the  forgiveness 
of  sin.  How  boundless  is  the  love  of  Christ  in  the 
way  of  pardon.  How  inexpressibly  great  and  glori- 
ous is  this  subject.  During  a  few  months  past,  I  have 
learned  a  little  of  the  minor  prophets.  I  have  just 
commenced  reading  these  books.  I  am  now  reading 
Hosea.  The  figurative  language  in  the  second  chap- 
ter is  exceedingly  forcible.  How  strikingly  are  de- 
scribed the  treachery,  ingratitude,  unreasonableness, 
and  wickedness  of  spiritual  departures  from  God. 
How  exceedingly  sinful  is  sin.  How  deserving  of  all 
the  judgments  denounced  against  it.  But  the  bound- 
less love  and  mercy  of  God,  as  exhibited  in  the  prom- 
ises contained  in  this  chapter,  I  think  most  wonder^ 
ful ;  and  so  of  all  the  promises  to  guilty  sinners. 
How  very  interesting  that  Peter  should  receive  an 
assurance  that,  though  Satan  had  desired  to  sift  him 
as  wheat,  Jesus  had  prayed  for  him,  that  his  faith 
might  not  fail.  Our  Mediator  will  never  leave  the 
weakest  nor  the  most  unworthy  of  his  followers.  He , 
has  undertaken  in  their  behalf.  He  has  begun  their 
salvation,  and  he  will  complete  it.  How  safe  it  is  to 
trust  in  him.  Here  is  all  our  confidence,  all  our  hope. 
Here  is  an  unfailing  fountain.  May  we,  my  dear 
friend,  both  of  us  be  permitted  to  rest  under  the  shad- 
ow of  his  wings.  May  we  walk  with  the  Saviour  day 
by  day,  hear  his  voice,  and  listen  to  his  words.  May 
we  feel  as  he  would  have  us  feel,  think  as  he  would 
have  us  think,  speak  as  he  would  have  us  speak,  and 
do  what  he  would  have  us  do.    It  is  indeed  a  precious 


AT  IPSWICH.  "  lot 

privilege  to  live,  if  we  can  have  a  single  eye  to  the 
glory  of  God.  I  want  you  should  pray  for  me  daily, 
that  I  may  have  a  heart  filled  with  love  to  Christ, 
that  I  may  have  a  zeal  according  to  knowledge  in 
laboring  in  his  service,  and  that  I  may  have  wisdom 
from  above  to  direct  me  in  the  right  path.  Pray  that 
our  teachers  may  be  holy,  devoted  to  God,  and  faith- 
ful in  his  service ;  that  we  may  none  of  us  be  entan- 
gled in  the  things  of  this  world ;  that  we  may  all  be 
able  so  to  connect  our  temporal  duties  with  the  great 
business  of  eternity,  that  they  shall  not  prove  a 
snare. 

Most  of  Miss  Lyon's  nieces,  of  adult  age,  enjoyed 
her  instructions  one  year  or  more.  One  of  them 
writes  that  the  influence  she  exerted  over  them,  in 
early  life,  in  causing  them  to  be  educated,  and  in  rais- 
ing higher  their  tone  of  piety,  can  be  known  and 
acknowledged  only  by  their  own  grateful  hearts.  A 
letter  to  one  of  them,  written  at  Ipswich,  in  1832,  will 
show  the  motives  she  held  before  them. 

"  My  dear  a In  advising  you  what  course 

to  take  in  future,  I  should  be  guided  very  much  by 
your  own  views  and  feelings  about  giving  up  yourself 
to  do  good — to  do  all  you  can  to  render  those  with 
whom  you  may  be  connected  better  and  happier.  I 
used  to  think  much  about  leading  my  friends  to  en- 
deavor to  educate  themselves,  that  they  might  take  a 
more  respectable  position  in  society.  This  is  compar- 
atively of  little  importance.  There  is  a  great  work 
to  be  performed  before  that  time  shall  come  which  is 
foretold,  and  many  hands  are  needed  to  be  employed 


108  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

in  this  work ;  not  only  those  of  ministers  and  mis- 
sionaries, but  also  of  females.  The  labor  to  be  done 
seems  greater  and  greater  every  year  ;  perhaps  I  may 
say  every  month  and  every  week.  How  much  is  to 
be  done  by  influence,  in  a  variety  of  ways.  How 
much  prejudice  to  be  removed.  What  an  almost  end- 
less catalogue  of  evils  exists  among  the  middle-aged 
and  youth  of  the  present  generation.  And  the  chih 
dren  will  follow  on  in  their  steps,  unless  some  greater 
and  more  powerful  influence  is  used.  I  do  most  ar- 
dently desire  that  laborers  may  be  raised  up,  possess- 
ing willing  hearts  and  a  self-denying  spirit.  Teach- 
ers of  the  right  character  can  do  much. 

"  Now,  my  dear  niece,  will  you  not,  in  a  measure, 
forget  self,  and  decide  to  give  yourself  wholly  to  the 
service  of  the  Lord,  to  labor  in  his  vineyard,  wher- 
ever he  shall  call,  and  '  whatsoever  you  do,  to  do  it 
heartily,  as  unto  the  Lord,  and  not  unto  men?'  If  this 
is  your  decision,  and  you  have  evidence  that  you  pos- 
sess a  tolerable  aptness  for  teaching,  and  can  obtain 
your  mother's  consent — do  nothing  without  your 
mother's  consent — I  should  think  it  might  be  your 
duty  to  make  even  a  great  pecuniary  sacrifice,  in 
order  by  that  means  to  be  prepared  to  do  the  greater 
good.  You  need  that  skill  in  exercising  moral  power 
over  others  which  you  cannot  possess  without  a  thor- 
oughly cultivated  mind,  and  cultivated  on  the  best 
principles.  If  your  object  is  to  devote  yourself  Avholly 
to  the  service  of  God,  and  to  labor  to  promote  his 
glory  by  increasing  human  excellence  and  human  hap- 
piness, I  advise  you  by  all  means  to  bear  the  expenses 
of  the  journey,  and  como  here  to  school. 


AT  IPSWICH.  109 

"  Your  tuition  will  be  twenty-five  dollars  a  year. 
I  will  give  you  enough  to  pay  your  tuition  bills  while 
here,  without  any  charge  except  the  charge  in  He- 
brews 13  :  16.  "  May  you  be  guided  in  the  path  of 
duty,  which  is  the  path  of  peace." 

Mrs.  Burgess,  the  neice  to  whom  the  last  letter 
was  addressed,  writing  to  Dr.  Hitchcock  from  Ahmed- 
nuggur  after  her  aunt's  death,  says  : 

"  There  was  one  way  her  ever-flowing  benevolence 
manifested  itself,  of  which  you  may  not  be  fully  aware. 
I  refer  to  the  pecuniary  aid  she  rendered  her  younger 
relatives  to  obtain  an  education.  This  aid,  if  of  much 
amount,  was  always  in  the  form  of  a  loan,  to  be  repaid 
as  circumstances  would  permit.  I  am  one  who  remem- 
ber with  many  emotions  of  gratitude  her  timely  offer 
of  assistance  when  I  was  strongly  desiring  to  enjoy 
higher  opportunities  for  mental  improvement  than 
could  be  possessed  in  an  academy  in  a  western  vil- 
lage. One  remark  in  the  letter  conveying  to  me  the 
ofifer  of  assistance  made  a  permanent  impression  on 
my  mind.  It  was  her  expressed  hope  that  I  should 
never  forget  the  injunction,  *  To  do  good  and  to  commu- 
nicate forget  not ;  for  with  such  sacrifices  God  is  well 
pleased.'  I  feel  now  without  doubt  the  influence  of 
that  wish,  when  I  am  trying  to  communicate  to  the 
school  of  Hindoo  girls  under  my  charge,  and  a  group 
of  women  and  little  children  who  come  more  or  less 
under  my  influence,  the  truths  of  the  Bible.  Many  of 
her  younger  relatives — who  generally  possessed  more 
of  a  desire  for  knowledge  than  the  means  of  obtain- 
ing it — are  much  indebted  to  her  for  timely  assistance. 


c 


110  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

She  did  very  much,  also,  to  inspire  love  of  knowledge 
and  hope  of  success  by  her  own  cheerful  temperament 
and  looks  of  encouragement. 

"  The  aid  she  rendered  was  mostly  in  the  form  of 
a  loan ;  but  her  right  hand,  prompted  by  her  generous 
heart,  often  gave  when  her  left  hand  knew  it  not.  I 
well  remember  the  visit  of  a  nephew,  who  spent  a  part 
of  a  college  vacation  with  her.  As  he  left  her  room, 
where  he  had  been  to  take  leave  of  her,  she  slipped 
into  his  hand  a  five  dollar  bill,  saying,  '  Take  that  to 
help  in  your  college  expenses  the  coming  term.' 

"  This  pecuniary  assistance  was  not  by  any  means 
confined  to  her  relatives.  Many  young  ladies  with 
whom  she  became  acquainted,  shared  largely  in  her 
sympathies  in  this  form.  But  of  that  I  need  not 
speak ;  it  was,  as  you  well  know,  her  abounding  de- 
sire always  in  every  way  to  do  good  to  others,  and  to 
subserve  the  cause  of  her  Master." 

In  November,  1832,  the  attention  of  Miss  Lyon 
was  called  to  Amherst  as  a  location  for  the  school. 
Dr.  Humphrey,  President  of  Amherst  College,  wrote 
to  Miss  Lyon,  saying,  "  Mount  Pleasant  school  is  at 
an  end.  The  teachers  and  pupils  are  dispersed,  and 
the  buildings  are  soon  to  be  closed.  Providence  has, 
80  to  speak,  thrown  Mount  Pleasant  into  the  market, 
and  we  should  be  glad  to  see  such  a  seminary  as  yours 
there,  if  it  should  be  thought  an  advantageous  loca- 
tion." 

"  The  situation  of  Mount  Pleasant,"  writes  Miss 
LyoQ,  "  is  delightful.  There  are  about  fifteen  acres 
of  land  connected  with  it."    The  owner  was  willing 


AT  IPSWICH.  Ill 

to  sell  it  at  its  market  value,  or  rent  it  at  six  hundred 
dollars  per  annum.  There  was  no  hope  of  raising  a 
sum  sufficient  for  the  purchase.  The  utmost  that  could 
be  hoped  was,  that  the  rent  might  be  met  for  three 
or  five  years  by  the  friends  of  female  education." 

Nov.  29,  1832,  she  wrote  to  Miss  Grant,  "  I  am  in 
favor  of  endeavoring  to  secure  Mount  Pleasant,  be- 
cause I  have  next  to  no  faith  that  the  public  are  now 
prepared  to  raise  a  sum  sufficient  to  meet  the  necessi-  • 
ties  of  the  institution,  unless  it  is  done  by  stepping 
stones,  and  those  must  be  laid  by  the  actual  progress 
of  the  institution.  You  know  this  is  the  way  every 
thilig  is  done  in  New  England.  Amherst  College, 
and  all  the  other  institutions  of  the  kind,  have,  been 
founded  by  commencing  operations,  by  forming  a 
nucleus,  and  then  calling  for  assistance." 

As  Miss  Lyon  saw  that  the  attempt  to  endow  that 
school  would  probably  fail,  she  began  to  revolve  the 
idea  of  engaging  in  teaching  in  a  distinct  field.  Her 
letter  to  Miss  Grant,  dated  Dec.  9,  1832,  contains  her 
first  mention  of  this  subject. 

"I  take  my  pen  to  introduce  a  subject  which  has 
agitated  my  mind  for  several  months.  Is  it  not  your 
solemn  duty  and  mine  to  review  the  question,  whether 
my  services  are  needed  as  much  in  our  beloved  semi- 
nary, as  in  some  other  portion  of  the  Lord's  vineyard? 
This  is  a  question  of  deep  solicitude  with  me.  For  a 
long  time,  previous  to  the  present  year,  I  felt  that  the 
question  was  settled.  I  had  made  a  kind  of  decision 
that  I  should  not  mention  the  subject  to  you  again. 
For  some  time  after  the  above  query  arose  in  my 
mind,  the  trial  of  mentioning  it  to  you  seemed  greater 


112  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

than  I  could  bear.  Often,  when  alone,  I  have  found 
relief  in  tears.  The  burden  of  my  prayer  has  been, 
that  if  it  were  most  for  the  glory  of  God  that  I  should 
continue  to  labor  with  you,  the  path  of  duty  might  be 
made  plain ;  and  if  it  were  his  will  that  I  should  labor 
elsewhere,  the  way  might  be  laid  open  that  you  might 
see  it,  and  both  of  us  be  prepared  for  the  separation. 

"In  taking  the  superintendence  the  past  year,  I 
have  seen  that  very  many  of  the  things  which  you  arid 
I  do,  when  we  are  together,  can  be  as  well  done  by 
our  experienced  teachers.  In  the  present  improved 
state  of  the  institution,  there  is  really  no  more  busi- 
ness that  would  come  under  the  head  of  superintend- 
ing than  can  be  done  by  one  of  us.  Of  the  labor 
which  needs  our  experience,  and  even  mind,  some 
could  be  done  nearly  as  well  by  one  as  by  two,  some 
just  as  well,  and  some  could  be  done  better.  I  have 
been  led  to  make  a  little  calculation  how  much  might 
be  done  by  the  assistant  teachers,  and  what  is  the 
least  amount  of  labor  which  it  is  indispensable  that 
the  principal  should  accomplish,  in  order  that  the  in- 
stitution may  flourish.  After  a  while  the  query  invol- 
untarily arose  in  my  mind,  whether  my  services  were 
really  needed  here,  whether  the  experience  I  had 
gained  was  not  more  needed  somewhere  else,  in  this 
needy,  impoverished  state  of  the  world.  I  did  not 
intend  to  mention  the  subject  till  you  returned ;  and 
in  the  event  of  my  leaving,  I  supposed  it  would  prob- 
ably be  best  for  us  to  take  a  year  to  plan  for  it. 

"  But  since  your  proposal  that  I  should  journey 
next  summer,  a  new  query  has  arisen,  whether  my 
leaving  then,  and  not  returning,  might  not  be  a  less 


AT  IPSWICH.  ^    113 

injury  to  the  school  than  my  leaving  at  any  more  dis- 
tant period ;  whether  it  might  not  cause  less  excite- 
ment, and  be  less  the  means  of  increasing  your  labor. 
I  should  very  much  need  more  time  to  collect  and 
arrange  the  fragments  of  improvement  which  we  have 
been  enabled  to  make,  which  are  now  more  in  my 
possession  than  in  yours,  in  order  that  I  might  trans- 
mit them  to  you  in  the  best  order.  But  it  would  un- 
doubtedly be  my  duty  to  take  some  time  to  become 
refreshed,  and  during  that  time  I  could  collect  these 
items  from  memory,  notes,  etc.,  and  arrange  them  for 
your  use  about  as  well  as  if  I  were  on  the  spot.  I 
could  have  no  object  so  important,  and  surely  I  could 
have  none  so  very  dear  to  my  heart,  as  that  of  leaving 
this  dearly  beloved  seminary,  this  darling  of  my  heart, 
under  the  most  favorable  circumstances.  Now,  my 
dearest  sister,  the  subject  is  before  you.  Will  you 
commend  it  to  our  heavenly  Father  every  morning 
with  me?  My  faltering  pen  has  obeyed  my  will;  I 
have  succeeded  in  telling  what  I  would.  And  now  I 
beg,  that  while  this  question  is  under  consideration, 
you  will  never  allude  to  personal  considerations  on 
either  side,  for  they  are  not  the  data  by  which  this 
interesting  question  must  be  decided.  It  would  be 
to  us  both  a  needless  trial  of  our  feelings.  You  will 
ask  about  our  great  plan.  I  do  not  think  there  is 
one  chance  in  twenty  for  it  to  succeed.  If  it  should, 
a  different  course  might  be  taken." 

Alluding  to  •  difficulties  which  had  arisen  about 
Amherst,  she  says,  "It  seems  rather  discouraging, 
when  I  look  over  the  last  two  years.  How  much 
time  and  strength  I  have  spent  i|i  thinking,  feeling, 


114  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

conversing,  and  planning  on  this  subject,  and  to  how 
little  purpose.  How  many  plans  I  have  drawn  and 
altered,  and  how  many  sheets  written  and  burnt.  I 
am  not,  however,  disheartened.  I  am  ready  to  at- 
tempt any  thing  which  seems  pointed  out  by  Provi- 
dence, even  without  any  surety  of  success." 

Two  days  after  she  writes,  "  I  have  never  known 
such  an  overwhelming  interest  in  the  great  plan  as  I 
have  for  a  few  weeks  past.  It  does  appear  to  me 
that  it  is  a  good  plan,  and  one  which  God  in  his  own 
time  will  own  and  bless.  I  know  of  nothing  which  I 
should  not  be  ready  to  do,  nor  any  sacrifice  which  I 
should  not  be  ready  to  make,  to  promote  the  object." 

Again  in  the  same  letter,  "  Every  thing  connected 
with  the  great  plan  in  which  we  have  been  interested, 
takes  hold  of  my  inmost  soul,  and  at  once  seems  to 
prostrate  all  my  powers." 

To  Mill  O-rant. 

"Ipswich,  Jan.  15,  1833. 

"  Is  it  indeed  so,  that  your  dear  sister  has  gone  to 
dwell  for  ever  with  the  Saviour?  It  is  pleasant  to 
think  how  many  whom  we  have  tenderly  loved  have, 
during  the  last  year,  gone  home  to  glory,  and  are  now . 
enjoying  that  which  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  car  heard. 
It  brings  the  heavenly  world  very  near.  May  we 
both  be  preparing  for  that  everlasting  rest.  But  it 
is  a  great  privilege  to  live  and  labor  in  the  cause  of 
Christ." 

Referring  to  a  school  about  to  be  opened,  she  adds, 
"  I  am  afraid  that  their  school  will  be  suited  only  to 
the  higher  class,  which  in  every  part  of  our  country  is 
a  very  small  class ;  that  their  plans  will  promote  dis- 


AT  IPSWICH.  115 

tinctions  in  society ;  and  that,  in  their  view,  the  im- 
provement of  the  masses  is  but  a  small  consideration. 
But  on  the  whole,  I  am  glad  they  are  about  to  com- 
mence. I  trust  they  will  do  much  more  good  than 
harm.  They  will  lead  their  pupils  to  gain  knowledge. 
They  will  teach  the  Bible  too,  and  I  hope  they  will 
be  careful  to  let  the  Bible  take  the  lead.  Then  I  care 
not  how  closely  intellectual  philosophy  follows  after." 

To  her  Uother. 

"  Ipswich,  January,  1833. 

"  I  should  be  glad  to  have  you  write  to  me,  and 
tell  me  all  you  know  respecting  the  religious  state 
and  character  of  your  descendants.  I  wish  to  obfain 
and  preserve  their  names  and  ages,  and  keep  a  record 
of  their  deaths,  as  they  may  occur.  I  should  be  glad 
to  keep  some  account  of  the  evidence  of  piety  there  is 
among  them.  May  they  all  be  brought  into  the  ark 
of  safety ;  and  whatever  may  be  their  temporal  condi- 
tion, may  they  bear  the  image  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ.  "Will  you,  my  dear  mother,  pray  par- 
ticularly for  your  children,  that  they  may  all  be  whoUy 
devoted  to  the  service  of  God ;  that  they  may  let 
their  light  so  shine,  that  others,  and  especially  those 
over  whom  they  shall  have  an  influence,  may  take 
knowledge  of  them  that  they  have  been  with  Jesus? 
How  small  a  thing  is  the  greatest  worldly  prosperity, 
compared  with  the  blessing  of  true  piety,  in  those  so 
near  to  your  heart. 

"There  are  a  few  cases  in  school  of  more  than 
usual  religious  interest.  Our  whole  number  is  one 
hundred.  About  half  are  either  professors  of  relig- 
ion, or  indulge  a  hope  that  they  are  Christians.    I 


116  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

hope  you  will  pray  for  us  daily,  that  all  who  love  the 
^  Saviour  may  become  his  decided,  active,  and  devoted  fol- 
lowers ;  and  that  all  who  do  not  now  love  God,  may 
give  their  hearts  to  him,  and  be  prepared  for  his  ser- 
vice. May  your  life  be  spared  many  years  to  pray 
for  the  prosperity  of  Zion." 

To  Miss  Grant. 

"  Ipswich,  Jan.  23, 1833. 

"  It  sometimes  seems  as  if  I  had  no  place  in  my 
letters  for  small  matters,  there  are  so  many  great 
things  demanding  immediate  attention.  I  enjoy  ac- 
knowledging God  at  our  meals  very  much.  I  never 
before  realized  so  constantly  his  good  hand  in  tempo- 
ral blessings  as  since  we  commenced  this  exercise. 
Before  the  first  attempt,  the  trial  became  greater  and 
greater  every  hour.  After  commencing,  it  gradually 
lessened  from  meal  to  meal,  till  now  I  feel  that  the 
privilege  far  overbalances  the  trial. 

"  I  have  just  commenced  giving  instruction  on  the 
epistles  of  Peter.  We  have  had  two  exercises,  three 
verses  each.  I  have  looked  forward  to  studying  and 
teaching  these  epistles  as  a  kind  of  feast.  But  the 
commencement  is  more  precious  than  I  anticipated. 
O  that  I  might  have  a  heart  to  receive  into  my  inmost 
soul  the  glorious  truths  which  emanate  from  many  a 
'radiant  point.'  The  good  Mr.  Shepard  of  Cam- 
bridge, on  his  dying  bed,  mentioned  to  the  young 
ministers  around  him  three  things  concerning  him- 
self :  *  That  the  study  of  every  sermon  cost  him  tears ; 
that  before  he  preached  any  sermon,  he  got  good  by  it 
himself ;  that  he  always  went  into  the  pulpit  as  if  he 
were  to  give  up  his  account  to  his  Master.' " 


AT  IPSWICH.  IIY 

To  the  game. 

"  Ipswich,  Feb.  24,  1833. 

"I  begin  to  doubt  whether  you  will  consider  it 
expedient  to  go  to  Amherst  on  the  best  terms  on 
which  there  is  any  hope  that  we  can  go.  The  high- 
est of  my  hopes  is  only  that  by  some  means  the  rent 
can  be  collected  by  dollars  and  cents  from  the  farmers 
and  mechanics  all  over  Franklin  and  Hampshire  coun- 
ties, in  order  to  make  an  experiment  of  three  years. 
The  greater  prospect  is,  that  at  the  close  of  that  pe- 
riod the  school  will  be  thrown  on  the  public  without 
a  home.  But  I  am  inclined  to  hazard,  for  nothing 
will  ever  be  done  without  it  on  this  subject.  I  cannot 
see  one  important  step  towards  the  'New  England 
Female  Seminary,'  which  can  safely  be  taken  at  pres- 
ent, and  perhaps  not  for  many  years  to  come,  unless 
this  experiment  at  Amherst  can  be  tried.  If  an  agent 
for  raising  funds  should  now  be  sent  out,  in  towns 
where  he  would  need  to  raise  one  or  two  thousand 
dollars,  he  might  not  raise  more  than  twenty  or  fifty. 
As  the  subject  has  gone  forward  for  three  years  past, 
the  public  will  not  be  prepared  to  be  called  on  for 
money  for  twenty  years  to  come. 

"  Interest  and  zeal,  I  think,  are  what  we  now  need. 
This  is  not  the  time  to  inquire  how  the  money  can  be 
raised ;  but  it  is  needful  now  to  put  forth  every  nerve 
and  sinew  to  awaken  an  interest  among  ministers  and 
other  good  men,  till  they  shall  feel  that  the  object  is 
good,  and  that  it  is  feasible.  But  this  interest  cannot 
be  awakened  so  much  by  writing,  preaching,  and  the 
like,  as  by  putting  certain  secret  springs  into  action. 
Now,  if  any  thing  is  done  at  Amherst,  I  think  it  should 


118  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

aim  only  at  an  experiment  for  three  years,  with  the 
express  design  of  preparing  the  way  for  a  permanent 
seminary.  If  this  experiment  can  be  made,  borne  on 
the  broad  shoulders  of  an  associate  body  of  gentle- 
men from  different  parts  of  the  state  as  their  plan,  I 
have  a  hope  that  these  gentlemen  would  so  bring  the 
subject  before  the  public,  that  it  would  be  safe,  before 
the  close  of  the  three  years,  to  solicit  of  the  commu- 
nity the  sum  of  forty  thousand  dollars." 

In  the  conclusion  of  this  letter,  we  have  the  first 
distinct  hints  of  those  modifications  of  her  plans  which 
enabled  Miss  Lyon  to  triumph  over  all  difficulties. 

"  One  point  more.  The  funds  for  Amherst  Col- 
lege have  been  collected,  not  from  the  rich,  but  from 
liberal  Christians  in  common  life.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  that  enterprise,  the  prospect  was  held  out  that 
it  would  be  a  college  of  high  standing,  where  the  ex- 
penses would  be  low,  and  that  it  would  be  accessible 
to  all.  This  was  like  a  main-spring,  without  which  it 
is  doubtful  whether  it  would  have  been  possible  to 
raise  the  funds.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  some- 
thing of  this  kind  may  be  indispensable  to  our  success. 
The  great  and  honorable  among  the  good  will  not 
listen  to  our  cause ;  but  perhaps  the  more  humble  in 
life,  led  forward  by  their  own  ministers,  may  befriend 
this  important  but  forsaken  object.  If  so,  if  there  is 
any  class  of  Christians  that  we  should  seek  to  gratify, 
it  must  surely  be  the  benefactors,  whether  high  or  low. 
If  the  same  class  of  Christians  who  support  our  mis- 
sionaries should  contribute  principally  to  the  raising 
of  the  funds,  is  it  not  important  that  the  style  of 
the  whole  establishment  should  professedly  be  plain, 


AT  IPSWICH.  119 

though  very  neat  ?    If  it  were  really  plain,  would  it 
not  be  more  respectable  to  have  it  professedly  so  ?" 

The  following  interesting  letter  alludes  again  to 
the  matter  of  a  separation  : 

To  the  same. 

"Ipswich,  Marcn  i,  i833. 

"  Yesterday  was  my  birthday.  Thirty-six  years  of 
my  life  are  gone,  and  now  I  am  one  year  more  than 
middle-aged.  To  look  back  step  by  step,  it  seems  a 
long  life,  and  the  remaining  years  in  prospect  seem 
few  and  short.  But  my  life  and  strength  may  be  pro- 
longed for  many  years  to  come.  I  would  that  it  might 
be  so,  if  it  is  the  will  of  the  Lord.  But  in  one  thing 
I  can  rejoice — that  as  long  as  the  Lord  of  the  vine- 
yard hath  any  need  of  my  feeble  service,  he  will  allow 
me  the  unspeakable  privilege  of  living  and  laboring ; 
and  when  he  sees  it  to  be  best  that  I  should  labor  no 
longer  in  this  dark,  wicked  world,  which  has  been 
promised  to  the  Saviour  as  his  inheritance,  then  may 
I  be  prepared  to  lay  down  this  tabernacle  with  joy 
and  rejoicing,  and  go  to  dwell  with  Christ,  which  is 
far  better.  Daily,  my  dear  sister,  do  I  endeavor  to 
ask  for  you  the  same  blessings  which  I  ask  for  myself. 
Oh,  this  vast  field,  which  is  white  already  to  the  har- 
vest. May  laborers  be  raised  up  in  great  numbers, 
to  gather  in  the  harvest,  which  is  continually  wasting 
away.  May  those  who  are  in  the  field  labor  while 
the  day  lasts.  May  you  and  I  be  so  directed,  that  we 
shall  spend  the  remainder  of  our  days  in  that  manner 
which  shall  be  the  means  of  the  greatest  possible 
results. 

"  One  thing  I  have,  for  several  weeks,  wanted  to 


120  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

propose  to  you.  It  is  this :  if  Providence  should  ever 
make  it  plainly  our  duty  to  occupy  different  fields  of 
labor,  and  to  dissolve  our  legal  connection,  I  should 
deem  it  one  of  the  greatest  earthly  blessings  which  I 
could  possibly  enjoy,  to  keep  as  many  of  the  cords 
which  now  bind  us  together  unbroken,  as  could  be 
done  under  existing  circumstances;  that  we  should 
assist  each  other  in  forming  plans;  that  we  should 
visit  each  other  often,  write  to  each  other  often ;  that 
we  should  each  feel  that,  next  to  our  own  field  of 
labor,  that  of  the  other  is  the  most  endearing — the 
field  to  which  we  have  pledged  our  services,  our  influ- 
ence, our  hearts.  A  union  somewhat  like  this  would 
be  to  me  an  unspeakable  satisfaction ;  it  would  seem 
to  save  my  bleeding  heart  from  sinking  under  the 
stroke  of  a  separation;  and  my  judgment  says,  that 
such  a  union  would  be  suited  to  advance  the  great 
cause  to  which  we  have  consecrated  our  lives. 

"  If  I  should  separate  from  you,  I  have  no  definite 
plan.  But  my  thoughts,  feelings,  and  judgment  are 
turned  towards  the  middle  classes  of  society.  For 
this  class  I  want  to  labor,  and  for  this  class  I  consider 
myself  rather  peculiarly  fitted  to  labor.  To  this  class 
in  society  would  I  devote,  directly,  all  the  remainder 
of  my  strength,  God  permitting — not  to  the  higher 
classes,  not  to  the  poorer  classes.  This  middle  class 
contains  the  main  springs  and  main  wheels  which  are 
to  move  the  world.  Whatever  field  I  may  occupy,  it 
must  be  a  humble,  laborious  work.  How  I  can  get 
a  footing  sufficiently  firm  for  my  feet  to  rest  upon  for 
the  remainder  of  my  days,  and  where  my  hands  can 
work,  I  know  not.    But  by  wandering  around,  and 


AT  IPSWICH.  121 

by  resting  from  my  labors  a  year  or  two,  perhaps 
Providence  might  open  the  door.  I  should  seek  for 
nothing  permanent,  to  continue  after  my  death,  as  to 
the  location  of  my  labors ;  but  I  should  consider  it 
very  desirable  that  I  should  occupy  but  one  more  field, 
that  I  should  make  but  one  more  remove,  till  I  remove 
into  my  grave.  I  shall  soon  be  literally  forty  years 
old ;  and  if  I  am  ever  to  leave  my  present  field  of 
labor,  and  begin  entirely  anew,  it  seems  desirable,  for 
my  future  usefulness,  that  I  should  begin  soon,  before 
many  more  of  my  remaining  days  are  gone,  or  much 
more  of  my  remaining  strength  exhausted. 

"  The  founding  of  a  permanent  seminary  is  so  great 
an  object,  that  it  would  be  right  to  sacrifice  consid- 
erable good  for  the  sake  of  a  small  probability  of  suc- 
cess. My  feelings  are  most  deeply  interested  in  this 
cause,  and  I  do  believe  that  such  a  work  will  be  efiect- 
ed  at  some  future  day,  perhaps  some  twenty  or  fifty 
years  from  this  time.  But  if  it  must  be  delayed  en- 
tirely for  several  years,  I  have  thought  that  there  was 
nothing  that  we  could  do  together  which  we  could 
not  do  separately.  If  any  indication  of  Providence 
should  appear  in  favor  of  the  great  object,  either  be- 
fore it  should  be  time  to  act,  or  before  I  should  take 
fast  hold  of  any  other — ^which  time  must  be  consider- 
able— we  could  again  unite  our  labors  as  before.  My 
candid  judgment  has  been,  that  the  probability  that 
such  a  seminary  would  be  founded  during  our  day  has 
been  constantly  diminishing ;  but  I  have  felt  it  my 
duty  not  to  say  much  about  it,  but  to  put  forth  every 
possible  effort,  till  we  should  professedly  give  up  the 
subject  for  the  present.    If  in  my  own  mind  the  chance 

Mary  I.yoa.  O 


122  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

two  years  ago  was  equal  to  one  in  five,  it  is  now  re- 
duced to  not  more  than  one  in  fifty — I  would  say  to 
one  in  one  hundred,  or  five  hundred,  if  we  except  the 
ray  of  hope  which  beams  from  the  possibility  that  an 
experiment  may  be  made  at  Amherst,  and  the  possi- 
bility that  something  favorable  may  grow  out  of  such 
an  experiment,  if  it  should  be  made.  My  belief  has 
been,  that  unless  something  unexpected  should  be 
brought  forward  by  the  wheels  of  Providence,  the 
time  has  nearly  come  when  it  will  be  your  duty  and 
mine  avowedly  to  relinquish  the  object — not  our 
interest  in  the  plan,  but  our  attempts  for  its  execu- 
tion. This  I  have  not  expressed  before,  and  now  it 
pains  me  to  acknowledge  my  conviction.  My  convic- 
tion arose  from  the  manner  in  which  the  scheme  is 
regarded  by  various  individuals,  who,  I  think,  are  a 
fair  index  of  the  public.  The  public,  as  such,  know 
nothing  of  any  consequence  about  the  object,  and  care 
less  than  they  know.  The  public,  as  such,  know  not, 
and  care  not  how  Miss  Grant  and  Miss  Lyon  are  unit- 
ed, or  when  they  separate,  or  how,  if  the  school  at 
Ipswich  can  go  on  well. 

"  If  the  plan  for  the  permanent  seminary  does  not 
succeed,  I  have  long  felt  that  you  and  I  must  continue 
to  labor,  and  make  no  more  attempts  for  any  thing 
permanent  to  result,  except  what  is  planted  perma- 
nently in  the  hearts  and  in  the  lives  of  those  over 
whom  God  may  give  us  a  direct  or  indirect  influence. 
I  consider  it  so  important  that  your  school  should  con- 
tinue to  flourish  during  your  remaining  days  of  labor, 
that  I  ought  to  take  a  course  which  would  diminish 
my  present  usefulness  and  hazard  my  future  useful- 


AT  IPSWICH.  123 

ness,  rather  than  greatly  to  hazard  the  prosperity  of 
your  school,  and  thus  your  usefulness.  A  small  haz- 
ard may  be  justifiable. 

"  This  letter  has  cost  me  more  hours  than  any  let- 
ter I  have  written  you  this  winter,  and  I  fear  it  will 
cost  you  more  to  read  it ;  and  how  little  it  contains." 

The  aspect  of  things  was  such,  that  the  nominal 
trustees  of  the  proposed  "New  England  Seminary" 
judged  it  expedient  to  dissolve  their  connection  as  a 
board.  They  had  held  several  meetings,  passed  sun- 
dry resolutions,  and  made  some  inquiries  in  reference 
to  the  object ;  but  finding  the  public  mind  indifferent 
to  it,  the  zeal  of  most  of  them  entirely  failed.  Miss 
Grant  had  been  absent  from  Ipswich,  and  unable  to 
engage  in  teaching  during  the  fourteen  months  in 
which  they  had  been  associated  as  a  board,  and  this 
may  in  part  have  occasioned  the  apathy  which  was 
nearly  everywhere  manifest.  April  6,  1833,  Miss 
Lyon  writes:  "I  think  there  are  more  than  nine 
chances  out  of  ten  that  the  door  of  Providence  will 
be  closed  against  all  future  operations  towards  found- 
ing a  permanent  institution.  If  this  effort  should 
fail,  it  seems  to  me  evident  that  it  will  be  the  duty  of 
Messrs.  Heard  and  Felt,  and  of  ourselves,  to  take  a 
different  attitude ;  to  give  up  all  thought  and  expec- 
tation of  doing  any  thing  directly  for  the  object,  but 
only  to  disseminate  knowledge  which  may  operate  on 
the  next  generation.  If  the  effort  now  commencing 
should  fail,  I  think  that  we  should  select  a  favorable 
location  for  usefulness,  and  settle  down  for  life,  dis- 
claiming all  expectation  that  any  plan  for  a  perma- 


124  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

nent  seminary  will  ever  succeed  in  our  day.  "We  may 
describe  the  advantages  of  such  an  institution,  what 
the  public  ought  to  do,  and  what  they  probably  will 
do  in  the  next  generation.  We  might  always  speak 
as  if  the  public  were  not  now  prepared  for  such  an 
undertaking,  and  would  not  be  prepared  for  many 
years.  When  it  is  evident  that  all  has  been  done 
that  can  be  done  on  our  part,  would  there  cot  be 
essential  advantages  in  our  taking  this  attitude?  It 
would  be  more  according  to  the  common  leadings  of 
Providence  that  we  should  in  this  way  collect  the 
materials,  and  that  the  temple  should  be  built  by  our 
successors." 

These  apparently  fruitless  efforts  were  not  without 
their  uses.  A  portion  of  the  community  had  become 
familiar  with  the  idea  of  founding  a  permanent  female 
seminary,  and  some  few  were  sorry  that  the  scheme 
had  failed.  Miss  Lyon's  own  st)ul  had  become  com- 
pletely permeated  with  the  subject.  She  knew  not 
her  own  heart  when  she  spoke  of  giving  up  all  thought 
and  expectation  of  doing  any  thing  more  towards  the 
object,  in  case  the  effort  in  which  she  was  then  en- 
gaged should  fail.  Only  ten  days  later-  she  writes  to 
Miss  Grant :  "  I  believe  I  once  said  something  to  you 
about  having  an  institution  at  the  West,  with  the  style 
plain,  the  food  simple,  almost  all  the  labor  done  by 
the  teachers  and  scholars,  and  the  expenses  very  low. 
Involuntarily  my  spirit  has  been  stirred  within  me  to 
try  such  a  plan  on  a  small  scale,  but  I  have  hereto- 
fore subdued  these  emotions.  I  should  not  wish  to 
undertake  it  unless  two  or  three  judicious  gentlemen 
and  ladies  should  enter  into  it  most  cordially.    Might 


AT  IPSWICH.  125 

it  not  be  of  advantage,  as  a  preparatory  step  for  test-  ,5^ 

ing  the  practicability  of  the  object,  to  make  an  exper- 
iment for  a  year  or  two  on  a  small  scale,  say  of  thirty, 
forty,  or  fifty  scholars,  in  New  England  ?  A  failure 
here  would  be  less  unfavorable  than  a  failure  at  the 
West." 

Miss  Lyon  had  learned  to  lay  plans  for  buildings 
for  a  school  and  family  in  an  economical  and  conven- 
ient manner.  Most  thoroughly  had  she  been  taught, 
that  for  efficient  aid  she  must  look,  not  to  the  honored 
and  wealthy,  who  were  already  laden  with  responsi- 
bilities, and  drained  by  constant  calls  for  charity,  but 
to  men  comparatively  retired  and  unknown.  She 
saw  that  it  might  be  necessary  to  commence  opera- 
tions on  a  small  scale,  and  work  with  such  means  as 
she  could  command ;  and  by  the  experiment  win  pub-  *^if*- 

lie  confidence  and  public  aid  to  assist  more  largely  in 
the  enterprise.  She  moderated  her  expectations  as 
to  friends,  till  she  felt  that  she  could  work  if  only 
two  or  three  gentlemen  and  ladies  would  cordially 
sustain  her  by  their  influence  and  cooperation.  She 
was  convinced  to  a  degree  to  which  no  abstract  rea- 
soning could  have  conducted  her,  that  the  argument 
from  the  superior  literary  and  scientific  advantages 
of  a  permanent  school  could  not  be  relied  on  for  gain- 
ing the  attention  of  the  community,  and  securing  their 
interest ;  but  that  some  peculiar  and  tangible  feature, 
addressing  itself  to  the  feelings  and  perceptions  of 
the  middling  classes  of  society,  must  be  used  as  a 
lever  for  moving  public  opinion  and  obtaining  the 
needed  funds.  These  lessons  were  of  great  use  to 
her  in  her  future  and  successful  labors. 


126  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 


CHAPTER  V. 

MISS  LYON'S  PLANS  MODIFIED  AND  MATURED— CLOS- 
ING  LABORS  AT  IPSWICH— PECULIAR  TRAINING- 
A.ND  FITNESS  FOR  HER  "WORK. 

1834. 

Miss  Lyon  spent  the  summer  of  1833  in  travel- 
ling and  visiting.  Her  correspondence  during  her 
rambles  is  entertaining  and  instructive,  but  is  omit- 
ted to  make  room  for  matter  more  directly  connected 
with  her  great  mission.  Her  mind,  abroad  as  at 
home,  was  constantly  at  work  on  the  problem.  How 
can  a  'permanent  Protestant  female  seminary  be  establish- 
ed ?  On  her  return  to  Ipswich,  although  she  contin- 
ued her  connection  with  the  school,  she  devoted  much 
thought  and  energy  to  the  ways  and  means  for  secur- 
ing this  object.  Feb.  26,  1834,  she  wrote  to  Miss 
White,  "During  the  past  year  my  heart  has  so  yearned 
over  the  adult  female  youth  in  the  common  walks  of 
life,  that  it  has  sometimes  seemed  as  though  a  fire 
were  shut  up  in  my  bones.  I  should  esteem  it  a 
greater  favor  to  labor  in  this  field  than  in  any  other 
on  which  I  have  ever  fastened  my  attention."  With 
Miss  Grant's  concurrence,  she  prepared  and  circulat- 
ed the  following  letter.  It  was  obviously  intended 
for  any  and  all  friends  of  an  enlarged  Christian  edu- 
cation, as  well  as  for  those  to  whom  it  was  particu- 
larly addressed. 

"  To  the  Friends  and  Patrons  of  Ipswich  Female  Seminary  : 

"  It  has  long  been  a  sjibjcct  of  deep  regret  to  indi- 
viduals familiarly  acquainted  with  the  character  and 


PLAN  OF  A  SEMINARY.  12t 

influence  of  this  institution,  that  many  promising 
young  ladies,  for  the  want  of  pecuniary  means,  should 
be  denied  its  privileges.  These  friends  of  education 
and  of  religion  have  fixed  their  eyes  on  one  and 
another  of  their  acquaintances,  who  would  be  greatly 
benefited  by  the  advantages  of  this  seminary,  and 
who  have  ardently  desired  to  enjoy  them  for  at  least 
one  year,  but  whose  desires  have  hitherto  been  in 
vain.  In  behalf  of  such  individuals,  the  inquiry  has 
often  been  made,  whether  board  in  some  families  in 
Ipswich  could  not  be  furnished  at  a  lower  rate  than 
usual ;  and  whether  they  could  not  render  some  assist- 
ance by  labor,  so  as  partly  to  defray  the  expense,  and 
thus  bring  these  privileges  within  their  reach.  Efforts 
which  should  meet  in  any  degree  the  wants  of  this 
interesting  portion  of  the  community,  would  without 
doubt  find  a  response  in  many  a  benevolent  heart. 
Could  the  expenses  be  reduced  one- third  or  one-half, 
a  great  number  who  now  almost  despair  of  ever  being 
able  to  realize  the  object  of  their  ardent  desires,  would 
be  made  to  rejoice  in  the  possession  of  opportunities 
for  instruction  and  improvement,  which  they  would 
value  more  than  silver  or  gold.  Many  others,  whose 
resources  will  not  now  permit  them  to  enjoy  these 
privileges  more  than  one  term,  or  one  year,  would  de- 
rive scarcely  less  benefit  from  such  a  provision.  To 
effect  such  an  object,  could  not  a  separate  and  inde- 
pendent institution,  similar  in  character  to  the  Ips- 
wich seminary,  be  founded  and  sustained  by  the  Chris- 
tian public  ?  Could  not  this  be  effected  by  some  plan 
like  the  following  ? 

"  1.  Buildings  for  the  accommodation  of  the  school 


/ 


128  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

and  of  boarders,  together  with  furniture  and  all  other 
things  necessary  for  the  outfit,  to  be  furnished  by  vol- 
untary contributions,  and  placed,  free  from  encum- 
brance, in  the  hands  of  trustees,  who  should  be  men 
of  enlarged  views  and  of  Christian  benevolence. 

"2.  Teachers  to  be  secured  possessing  so  much  of 
a  missionary  spirit  that  they  would  labor  faithfully 
and  cheerfully,  receiving  only  a  moderate  salary  com- 
pared with  what  they  could  command  in  other  situa- 
tions. 

"  3.  Style  of  living  neat,  but  very  plain  and  simple. 

"  4.  Domestic  work  of  the  family  to  be  performed 
by  the  members  of  the  school. 

"  5.  Board  and  tuition  to  be  placed  at  cost,  or  as 
low  as  may  be,  and  still  cover  the  common  expenses 
of  the  family,  instruction,  etc. 

"  6.  The  whole  plan  to  be  conducted  on  the  prin- 
ciples of  our  missionary  operations ;  no  surplus  income 
to  go  to  the  teachers,  to  the  domestic  superintendent, 
or  to  any  other  person,  but  all  to  be  cast  into  the 
treasury,  for  the  still  further  reduction  of  the  expenses 
the  ensuing  year. 

"From  a  careful  review  of  the  above  principles, 
would  it  not  be  safe  to  calculate  on  a  reduction  of 
one-third,  and  perhaps  one-half,  from  the  expense  of 
board  and  tuition  at  Ipswich  ?  Such  a  reduction  could 
not  indeed  be  expected  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  more 
needy  and  dependent.  The  design  would  bo  to  bene- 
fit more  directly  a  very  largo  and  interesting  portion 
of  the  industrious  and  enterprising,  who  are  able  to 
do  something  for  their  daughters,  and  who  would  be 
induced  to  make  far  greater  efforts  in  behalf  of  their 


PLAN  OP  A  SEMINARY.  129 

education  than  they  now  do,  could  they  secure  to  them 
advantages  equal  to  those  of  one  of  our  best  and  most 
respectable  female  seminaries,  at  so  moderate  an  ex- 
pense. If  the  standard  of  female  education  among  this 
class  could  by  any  means  be  raised,  and  its  influence 
more  extensively  diffused,  every  department  of  society 
must  sooner  or  later  experience  the  beneficial  results. 

"  The  difficulty  of  raising  funds  would  doubtless 
be  the  greatest  obstacle  to  such  an  undertaking.  But 
there  are  many  individuals  in  different  parts  of  our 
country  who  confidently  believe  that  something  of  the 
kind  could  be  effected,  if  the  proper  course  were  taken 
to  interest  the  public.  The  object  should  be  brought 
forward  with  very  broad  and  liberal  views,  without 
any  semblance  of  local  interest.  It  should  be  pre- 
sented as  a  public  enterprise,  for  the  public  benefit, 
claiming  equally  the  patronage  of  every  part  of  New 
England.  To  effect  this,  and  to  secure  public  confi- 
dence, no  special  favors  should  be  granted  to  the  town 
where  the  institution  is  established.  For  example, 
none  should  be  received  into  the  school  unless  they 
enter  the  establishment  as  boarders,  subject  to  all  its 
regulations,  in  the  same  manner  as  those  from  abroad. 

"  The  location  would  be  a  matter  of  special  impor- 
tance. It  should  be  one  which  would  be  viewed  with 
a  favorable  eye,  not  only  by  the  inunediate  vicinity, 
but  by  the  community  in  general ;  and  one  for  which 
funds  could  as  easily  be  raised  as  for  any  other  loca- 
tion. The  spot  selected  should  be  adapted  to  the 
growth  and  prosperity  of  such  an  institution.  It 
should  be  alike  suited  to  nourish  the  tender  plant  and 
to  support  the  lofty  oak." 

6* 


180  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

To  Thomas  White,  Esq.,  of  Ashfield,  who  had 
been  like  a  father  to  her,  and  who  had  taken  a  deep 
interest  in  her  Buckland  and  Ashfield  schools,  she 
forwarded  a  number  of  these  circulars  for  distribu- 
tion among  the  gentlemen  of  his  acquaintance,  accom- 
panying them  with  the  following  letter. 

"Ipswich,  March  5,  1834. 

"My  dear  Sir — I  have  long  felt  a  great  desire 
that  the  advantages  of  a  seminary  like  this  should  be 
brought  within  the  reach  of  the  common  people  gen- 
erally, and  that  by  some  means  the  expenses  should 
be  reduced  to  a  level  with  their  ability.  I  do  wish 
our  farmers  would  look  at  this,  and  see  what  can  be 
done.  If  they  would  take  hold  of  it  vigorously,  I  do 
think  something  could  be  done,  perhaps  something 
which  would  secure  the  interests  of  thousands  of  their 
posterity.  While  it  is  desirable  that  every  benevo- 
lent man  should  be  able  to  grasp  all  the  benevolent 
objects  of  the  day,  and  do  something  for  all,  I  doubt 
not  but  the  best  interests  of  the  whole  are  promoted 
by  having  one  mind  directed  to  one  object,  and  an- 
other to  another.  I  have  been  thinking  that  if  this 
object  should  be  brought  up  and  viewed  in  its  true 
light,  some  of  our  fathers  in  the  cause  of  benevolence 
might  select  it  as  the  child  of  their  prayers  and  of 
their  charities.  Who  would  be  more  likely  to  begin 
upon  it  than  our  wealthy  farmers  ? 

"  And  now,  my  dear  sir,  in  your  old  age,  would 
you  not  be  glad,  with  a  few  other  kindred  souls,  to 
be  the  means  of  commencing  a  great  work  which,  in 
importance  to  the  welfare  of  our  country,  of  the 
church,  and  of  the  world,  shall  not  fall  behind  the 


PLAN  OF  A  SEMINARY.  131 

home  missionary,  or  any  other  of  our  leading  benev- 
olent societies?  Would  you  not  gladly  see  such  a 
work  begun,  and  advancing  ?  And  how  would  your 
heart  rejoice,  if,  before  you  sleep  in  the  dust,  you  could 
see  it  rise  and  spread  as  our  foreign  missionary  oper- 
ations have  done.  This,  I  believe,  may  be  accom- 
plished, and  he  who,  first  putting  his  hand  to  the 
work,  shall  say  to  others,  '  Come,  and  do  likewise,' 
will  deserve  a  place  with  Mills,  with  Robert  Eaikes, 
and  others  of  like  eminence.  I  do  long  to  have  some 
one  or  more  gentlemen  look  at  this  object,  till  they 
are  ready  to  do  something  for  it.  I  would  gladly  do 
as  much  of  the  work  as  I  can,  and  I  find  other  ladies 
ready  to  join  in  it. 

"I  have  long  had  a  secret  hope  that  the  time 
would  arrive  when  I  could  consistently  give  up  my 
present  sphere  of  labor,  and  in  some  way  devote  my 
life,  my  strength,  and  all  my  powers  to  this  object. 
That  time  has  now  arrived ;  and  after  laboring  half 
a  year  longer  for  this  seminary,  I  expect  to  close  my 
connection  with  it." 

Miss  Grant  was  absent  from  the  school  during  the 
summer  of  1834,  leaving  Miss  Lyon  again  in  charge 
of  it.  The  following  are  selections  from  her  corre- 
spondence during  this  period. 

Writing  to  her  mother  in  April  of  that  year,  after 
speaking  of  the  convcFsion  of  a  nephew,  she  adds,  "I 
consider  this  a  special  blessing.  I  have  thought  of  no 
one  in  the  family  circle  so  much  during  the  winter  as 
I  have  of  him.  He  was  the  eldest  that  gave  no  evi- 
dence of  being  born  again.    I  was  much  interested 


182  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

in  his  general  character  when  I  last  saw  him ;  but  he 
seemed  far  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Have  we 
not  renewed  cause  to  bless  the  Lord  and  praise  his 
holy  name  ?  We  have  surely  another  pledge  of  his 
goodness  and  everlasting  love.  And  now,  my  dear 
mother,  I  hope  you  will  have  an  increased  spirit  of 
prayer  for  your  children  and  grandchildren.  More  / 
than  for  almost  any  thing  else  do  I  desire  to  have 
your  life  spared,  that  you  may  have  more  time  to  pray 
for  your  large,  increasing  family.  I  hope  you  will 
stand  at  the  last  day  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Judge, 
with  all  your  posterity  down  to  the  latest  generation." 

To  liiss  Grant. 

"May  6,  1834. 
"  Yesterday  we  heard  of  the  death  of  our  former 
pupil.  Miss  Farnum.  We  have  not  heard  the  particu- 
lars, except  that  she  had  her  reason  to  the  last,  and 
was  calm  in  death.  It  is  very  pleasant  to  think  of 
the  five  individuals  who  once  were  members  of  our 
family,  that  we  believe  are  now  together  with  the 
Lord — Mrs.  Wright,  Miss  Marsh,  Miss  Kingsley,  Mrs. 
Bishop,  and  Miss  Farnum.  How  evident  is  it  that  wo 
do  not  know  who  it  is  best  should  bo  called  home, 
and  who  it  is  best  should  stay.  In  times  past,  life 
has  seemed  to  me  pleasant,  and  the  privilege  of  labor- 
ing very  desirable.  But  my  feelings  have  undergone 
some  change  for  a  few  months  past.  Now  it  seems  to 
me  that  if  God  sees  it  to  be  best  that  wo  should  live, 
it  is  vastly  important  that  we  should  labor  with  all 
our  strength ;  but  that  whenever  God  may  sec  it  best 
to  call  us  hence,  we  should  cheerfully  leave  our  work 
at  a  moment's  warning.    He  who  has  given  us  our 


PLAN  OP  A  SEMINARY.  133 

work  to  do,  can  easily  commit  it  to  other  hands.  It 
is  my  desire  to  be  in  daily  readiness  to  leave  all.  I 
believe  I  do  have  some  foretastes,  from  time  to  time, 
of  what  I  think  heaven  is,  though  between  these  sea- 
sons there  is  much  of  strange  stupidity.  These  little 
C  foretastes  too,  as  they  return  again  and  again,  become 
more  and  more  enriching  to  my  soul,  and  ravishing 
to  my  heart.  But  the  imperfect  fruit  which  I  bring 
forth,  and  the  more  imperfect  fountain  within,  form  a 
strange  paradox.  The  grace  of  Christ  is  sufficient  to 
cleanse  from  all  sin.  This  is  my  only  hope,  and  a 
precious  hope  it  is." 

In  the  next  extract  she  gives  her  reasons  for  insist- 
ing on  comparatively  low  salaries  for  the  teachers  in 
the  proposed  school. 

"  Is  it  not  true  that,  on  extraordinary  occasions,  it 
may  be  the  duty  of  benevolent  individuals  to  labor 
without  expecting  to  receive  that  which  is  their  just 
due?  Does  not  any  good  object  which  has  not  yet 
gained  the  public  confidence,  often  furnish  such  an 
occasion?  In  such  emergencies,  has  not  the  church 
always  been  able  to  furnish  some  who  are  ready  to 
turn  a  deaf  ear  to  louder  calls,  and  continue  to  do  so 
while  the  necessity  lasts  ?  Was  not  the  apostle  Paul 
one  who  acted  preeminently  on  this  principle  ?  How 
plainly  does  he  teach  that  the  laborer  is  worthy  of 
his  reward,  and  that  the  Lord  hath  so  ordained  that 
those  who  preach  the  gospel  should  live  of  the  gos- 
pel. Yet  he  used  not  this  power,  lest  he  should  hin- 
der the  gospel,  and  lest  his  good  should  be  evil  spo- 
ken of.  That  necessity  has  passed  away,  and  it  is  no 
longer  desirable  that  in  Christian  lands  the  gospel 


184  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

should  be  without  charge.    But  do  not  some  of  our 
missionaries  adopt  a  similar  principle  ?    How  great 
are  their  sacrifices,  compared  with  those  of  ministers 
at  home.     What  minister  in  a  Christian  land  would 
not  sooner  relinquish  one  half  of  his  salary,  and  even 
one  half  of  the  remainder,  than  subject  his  children 
to  the  evils  to  which  the  children  of  missionaries  are 
exposed  ?     What  reward  is  given  to  missionaries  for 
all  this  sacrifice  ?     Does  it  not  appear  that  even  jus- 
tice, to  say  nothing  of  mercy,  would  compel  those  who 
send  them  forth  to  pledge  at  least  the  education  of 
their  children  ?    This  would  be  but  a  small  return  for 
the  debt  of  gratitude  due  to  some  of  our  missionaries 
from  the  churches.    But  this  return,  the  most  precious 
of  a  pecuniary  kind  that  can  be  made,  the  Christian 
public  are  not  sufficiently  enlightened  to  render.    But 
the  missionary  cause  has  not  been  forsaken  on  this 
account.     Louder  calls  do  not  turn  the  devoted  mis- 
sionary from  his  purpose.     Is  not  this  the  condition 
of  the  object  under  consideration?    Is  it  not  very 
important  that  mothers  should  be  so  trained,  that 
they  will  be  proper  educators  for  the  children  of  the 
church?     To  eflfect  this,  is  there  not  great  need  of 
female  seminaries,  cheap  but  good  schools?    And  is 
there  any  hope  of  establishing  such  schools  without 
the  aid  of  the  benevolent  Christian  public?     And 
while  the  public  are  so  little  prepared  to  contribute 
liberally  to  an  object  like  this,  may  it  not  be  expe- 
dient that  those  who  first  enter  the  field  as  laborers 
should  receive  as  a  reward  so  little  of  *  filthy  lucre,' 
that  they  may  be  able  to  commend  themselves  to  every 
man's  conscience,  even  to  those  whose  minds  are  nar- 


PLAN  OP  A  SEMINARY.  135 

row,  and  whose  hearts  are  not  much  enlarged  by  Chris- 
tian philanthropy  ?  If  such  a  course  should  be  desir- 
able at  the  commencement,  how  many  years,  or  how 
many  scores  of  years  must  elapse  before  it  would  be  no 
longer  needful,  time  and  experience  alone  can  decide." 

"May  12,  1834. 

"  Mr  VERY  DEAR  MOTHER — ^I  do  not  cxpcct  to  Con- 
tinue my  connection  with  Miss  Grant  after  this  sum- 
mer. I  have  for  a  great  while  been  thinking  about 
those  young  ladies  who  find  it  necessary  to  make  such 
an  effort  for  their  education  as  I  made  when  I  was 
obtaining  mine.  In  one  respect,  from  year  to  year,  I 
have  not  felt  quite  satisfied  with  my  present  field  of 
labor.  I  have  desired  to  be  in  a  school,  the  expenses 
of  which  would  be  so  small,  that  many  who  are  now 
discouraged  from  endeavoring  to  enjoy  the  privileges 
of  this,  might  be,  favored  with  those  which  are  similar 
at  less  expense. 

"  The  course  of  instruction  adopted  in  this  institu- 
tion, and  the  course  which  I  have  endeavored  to  adopt 
when  I  have  instructed  among  my  native  hills,  I  be- 
lieve is  eminently  suited  to  make  good  mothers  as  well 
as  teachers.  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  many 
who  have  enjoyed  these  privileges  occupying  the  place 
of  mothers.  I  have  noticed  with  peculiar  interest  the 
cultivated  and  good  common-sense,  the  correct  rea- 
soning, the  industry  and  perseverance,  the  patience, 
meekness,  and  gentleness  of  many  of  them.  I  have 
felt,  that  if  all  our  common  farmers,  men  of  plain, 
good  common-sense,  could  go  through  the  country  and 
witness  these  mothers  in  their  own  families,  and  com- 
pare them  with  others  in  similar  circumstances,  they 


136  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

would  no  longer  consider  the  money  expended  on 
these  mothers  as  thrown  away. 

"  Since  I  have  lived  to  see  so  many  of  these  ladies 
in  their  own  families,  I  have  felt  more  than  ever  be- 
fore that  my  field  of  labor  was  among  the  most  desir- 
able. I  have  felt  that  I  could  thank  Him  who  has 
given  me  my  work  to  do.  Oh  how  immensely  impor- 
tant is  this  work  of  preparing  the  daughters  of  the 
land  to  be  good  mothers  1  K  they  are  prepared  for 
this  situation,  they  will  have  the  most  important 
preparation  which  they  can  have  for  any  other  ;  they 
can  soon  and  easily  become  good  teachers,  and  they 
will  become,  at  all  events,  good  members  of  society. 
The  false  delicacy  which  some,  young  ladies  indulge, 
will  vanish  away  as  they  see  most  of  the  companions 
of  their  childhood  and  youth  occupying  the  solemn 
and  responsible  situation  of  mothers.  It  will  no  lon- 
ger appear  like  a  subject  for  which  no  care  should  be 
taken  in  the  training  of  daughters. 

"  While,  in  the  good  providence  of  God,  I  have 
been  permitted  to  occupy  a  field  of  labor  where  I 
could  aid  in  preparing  some  who  must  mould  the 
character  of  future  generations  for  their  great  work, 
and  while  I  have  enjoyed  much  in  my  labor,  I  have 
not  been  quite  satisfied.  I  have  looked  out  from  my 
quiet  scene  of  labor  on  the  wide  world,  and  my  heart 
has  longed  to  see  many  enjoying  these  privileges  who 
cannot  for  the  want  of  means.  I  have  longed  to  be 
permitted  to  labor  where  the  expenses  would  be  less 
than  they  are  here,  so  that  more  of  our  daughters 
could  reap  the  fruits.  Sometimes  my  heart  has 
burned  within  me  ;  and  again  I  have  bid  it  be  quiet. 


PLAN  OF  A  SEMINARY.  131 

I  have  sometimes  speculated,  and  built  airy  castles, 
and  again  I  have  bid  my  mind  dwell  on  sober  real- 
ities. I  have  thought  that  there  might  be  a  plan 
devised  by  which  something  could  be  done.  I  have 
further  thought,  that  if  I  could  be  entirely  released 
from  all  engagements  and  all  encumbrances,  perhaps 
I  might  in  time  find  some  way  opened  before  me  for 
promoting  this  good  object.  With  this  view,  I  de- 
cided some  time  since,  if  Miss  Grant's  health  should 
be  sufficiently  restored,  to  propose  a  separation.  That 
time  has  now  come,  and  we  have  agreed  to  close  our 
joint  labors  next  fall.  Miss  Grant  is  to  be  absent 
through  the  summer  term,  to  improve  her  strength, 
and  then  I  expect  to  leave  this  scene  of  labor  for 
ever. 

"  I  do  not  expect  immediately  to  commence  in  any 
other  field.  I  very  much  want  six  months  or  a  year 
to  read,  write,  plan,  and  do  a  thousand  other  things. 
I  do  not  expect  to  be  idle.  This  may  seem  like  a 
wild  scheme ;  but  I  cannot  plead  that  it  is  a  hasty 
one.  I  have  had  it  under  careful  consideration  two 
years  or  more,  and  for  one  whole  year  the  question 
has  been  weighed  by  Miss  Grant  and  myself. 

"  I  hope  and  trust  that  this  is  of  the  Lord,  and 
that  he  will  prosper  it.  In  this  movement  I  have 
thought  much  more  constantly,  and  have  felt  much 
more  deeply,  about  doing  that  which  shall  be  for  the 
honor  of  Christ  and  for  the  good  of  souls,  than  I  ever 
did  in  any  step  in  my  life.  I  want  that  you  should 
pray  for  me,  my  dear  mother,  that  I  may  in  this  thing 
be  guided  by  wisdom  from  above,  and  that  the  Lord 
would  bless  me,  and  make  me  a  blessing.    My  daily 


138  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

prayer  to  God  is,  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to 
do?  If  the  Lord  go  not  with  me,  let  me  not  go 
hence. 

"  Perhaps  you  may  inquire  what  course  I  expect 
to  take,  and  where  is  to  be  my  future  scene  of  labor. 
This  I  do  not  know.  The  present  path  of  duty  is 
plain.  The  future  I  can  leave  with  Him  who  doeth 
all  things  well." 

In  a  supplement  the  next  day,  she  writes,  "  My 
dear  mother,  I  want  you  to  pray  for  the  family  with 
which  I  reside." 

After  describing  the  different  members,  particu- 
larly their  religious  state,  she  adds,  "Another  member 
of  the  family  is  a  young  man  whose  mind  was  injured 
by  sickness  when  he  was  a  child.  He  makes  himself 
useful,  and  is  very  faithful.     As  I  have  seen  poor 

J go  about,  I  have  thought  of  his  soul,  and  hoped 

he  would  at  last  shine  in  heaven.* 

"  Another,  for  whom  I  feel  great  solicitude,  is  a 
woman  who  works  in  the  kitchen.  She  is  about  forty 
years  old,  and  cannot  read.  She  is  now  absent  on  a 
visit.  I  commenced  teaching  her  to  read  before  she 
went  away,  and  design  to  continue  it  when  she  re- 
turns, or  engage  some  one  of  the  teachers  to  do  it. 
She  has  been  very  much  ashamed  to  let  any  one  know 
that  she  could  not  read.  I  taught  her  in  my  cham- 
ber alone.  I  want  you  should  pray  fcr  these  indi- 
viduals.   I  hope  salvation  will  come  to  this  house. 

*  It  is  gratifying  to  state,  that  after  the  above  letter  was 

written,  J ,  in  great  simplicity  and  sincerity,  came  like  a 

child  to  Christ,  and  has  since  adorned  a  religious  profession 
by  a  humble  and  excmphury  life. 


AT  IPSWICH.  139 

"  The  religious  state  of  our  school  was  ftivorable 
last  term.  About  twenty  indulged  some  hope  of 
having  been  born  again.  In  about  two  weeks,  the 
school  reassembles.  Pray  for  us  that  the  Lord  may 
meet  with  us." 

To  Miss  Grant. 

"Ipswich,  May  16, 1834. 
"  What  can  any  of  us  do  without  the  blessing  of 
God  ?  I  do  hope  we  shall  not  be  forsaken  of  him. 
Pray  for  us  all,  and  especially  for  the  teachers,  that 
we  all  may  be  fed  with  heavenly  food,  granted  day 
by  day,  like  our  daily  bread.  "When  there  is  so  much 
to  be  done  for  the  blessed  and  glorious  Saviour,  how 
important  that  all  our  strength,  feeble  as  it  is,  should 
be  wholly  devoted  to  his  service.  I  am  feeling  more 
and  more,  that  it  is  much  more  important  that  all  our 
powers,  greater  or  less,  should  be  devoted  to  God,  than 
that  our  powers  should  be  great ;  and  that  it  is  more 
important  that  all  our  time,  whether  longer  or  short- 
er, should  be  devoted  to  him,  than  that  this  life  should 
be  long.  What  a  privilege  to  labor,  feeling  that, 
while  we  are  spared,  God  in  his  infinite  love  can 
make  use  of  our  labors  to  promote  the  best  of  all 
causes,  and  whenever  he  calls  us  hence,  we  can  lay 
by  our  work,  as  we  lay  off  a  garment,  and  the  work 
can  go  on  just  as  well  without  us.  How  full  of  wis- 
dom, goodness,  and  mercy,  are  all  the  ways  of  God. 
In  eternity,  we  shall  for  ever  feast  upon  his  love. 
Sometimes  I  have  great  hope  that  the  Lord  will  meet 
with  us  and  bless  us  this  summer — teachers,  scholars, 
and  all.  To  save  by  few  or  by  many  is  tha  same 
with  God.    It  may  be  that  he  will  honor  his  name 


140  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

by  remembering  us  in  our  weakness,  and  by  taking 
us  all  to  be  his  own.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  is  my 
heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God  from  day  to  day. 

"  Last  week,  I  wanted  to  tell  you  how  weak  I  felt. 
In  the  first  place,  a  pain  seemed  to  play  around  my 
head,  just  ready  to  seize  upon  it,  and  to  unfit  me  for 
every  thing.  It  became  necessary  to  watch  and  guard 
my  efforts  as  carefully  as  I  would  a  candle  in  the  gen- 
tle breeze.  In  the  next  place,  my  mind  was  locked  as 
in  a  cage,  and  my  heart  was  seized  with  a  painful  chill. 
So  much  for  myself.  In  looking  over  the  boarding- 
houses  and  scholars,  I  could  find  so  little  salt  on  which 
I  could  depend  that  it  would  not  lose  its  savor,  that 
my  heart  sank  within  me.  The  inquiry,  'How  can 
these  boarding-houses  be  so  regulated,  and  the  school 
so  guided,  that  every  thing  may  be  done  which  ought 
to  be  done  to  prepare  the  way  of  the  Lord,  and  make 
his  paths  straight?'  came  home  to  my  soul.  I  felt 
like  sinking ;  but  the  thought  that  the  Lord  is  able 
was  comforting.  Yesterday,  I  seemed  to  gather  some 
crumbs  from  my  Father's  table,  which  revived  my 
strength  of  body,  mind,  and  heart." 

To  the  same. 

"June  5,  1834.  * 
"  Last  evening,  the  Life  of  dear  Mr.  Emerson  came. 
I  seemed  to  have  a  visit  with  the  good  man,  as  I  glanc- 
ed over  the  pages  one  after  another.  I  hope  every 
one  who  loved  him  will  eiyoy  the  privilege  of  reading 
it.  O  that  I  might  derive  important  and  permanent 
profit  from  this  precious  book.  How  large  a  portion 
of  my  life  has  already  gone,  and  to  how  little  purpose! 
When  I  look  at  such  a  character  aa  his,  whose  time 


AT  IPSWICH.  141 

was  so  systematically  divided,  so  filled  up  with  varied 
usefulness,  and  who  was  so  persevering  on  so  many 
difibrent  and  seemingly  opposite  points,  I  feel  a  kind 
of  stirring  influence  in  my  inmost  soul,  making  me 
feel  that  I  want  to  begin  anew,  like  a  little  child,  and 
live  as  I  should  live ;  though  it  must  be  a  short  life, 
comparatively.  But  when  and  how  shall  I  begin? 
How  shall  I  live,  and  how  shall  I  labor  ?" 

"  June  25.  Three  or  four  young  ladies  were  anx- 
ious about  their  salvation  when  they  entered  the 
school.  Others  are  somewhat  interested.  Last  Sab- 
bath morning,  I  met  twelve  at  my  room  who  thought 
they  were  decided  to  make  religion  their  first  con- 
cern. Two  of  the  number  are  now  indulging  some 
hope." 

"  July  4.    Returning  by  way  of  Beverly,  I  passed 

the  night  in  the  hospitable  home  of  kind  Mrs.  B , 

and  spent  some  time  in  reading  to  her  and  another 
good  lady  from  Mr.  Emerson's  Life.  It  was  a  luxury, 
indeed,  to  read  to  people  possessing  such  hearts.  How 
justly  might  he  say,  '  Oh,  with  what  eyes,  with  what 
smiles,  with  what  hands,  with  what  hearts,  with  what 
words,  did  they  meet  the  feeble  remnant  of  him  they 
once  honored  as  their  minister  so  much  above  his 
deserving.'  I  love  to  read  his  letters.  I  delight  to 
dwell  on  his  sincerity.  Surely,  mine  eyes  have  seen 
one  honest-hearted  man  in  this  dark,  deceitful  world. 
I  am  distressed  with  the  apparent  want  of  sincerity 
among  Christians  on  the  first  and  grand  principles  of 
duty ;  and  more  than  all,  with  my  own  real  deficien- 
cies in  this  respect.  I  am  distressed  that  so  many 
momentous  subjects  of  Christian  duty  should  wear  so 


142  LIFE  OP  MART  LYON. 

different  an  aspect  in  the  pulpit,  and  in  the  solemn 
and  attentive  audience,  from  what  tliey  do  in  the  social 
circle,  and  in  the  business  of  life.  Is  there  real  cause 
for  this  distress?  Is  it  owing  to  partial  views  of 
things  ?  0  that  my  own  heart  might  be  sincere,  and 
my  hands  clean ! 

"  Last  evening,  Mrs. showed  me  an  old  tract, 

'  Mary  and  Martha,'  which  her  daughter  had  brought 
from  Vermont.  I  found  it  was  written  more  than 
forty  years  ago,  by  my  grandmother's  sister.  She 
was  a  good  woman,  in  whom  the  meek  arid  heavenly 
spirit  of  Jesus  reigned  all  her  life,  almost  without  a 
spot.  She  nursed  her  aged  parents  till  their  death, 
after  which  she  was  married,  and  had  one  only  son, 
who  was  content  to  be  brought  up  by  his  mother's 
side,  a  stranger  to  the  arts  of  the  world.  This  child 
has  now  three  little  daughters,  and  for  a  son  has  taken 
the  youngest  child  of  my  afflicted  sister  Putnam. 

"  This  little  tract  brought  up  a  long  train  of  family 
associations.  It  seemed  an  interesting  relic  of  the  old, 
venerated  family  of  my  mother's  grandfather." 

To  a  gentleman  at  Andover,  who  had  suggested 
that  location  for  the  proposed  school,  she  writes, 
July  5,  "  I  have  decided  to  close  my  connection  with 
this  institution,  with  a  hope  of  using  my  limited  influ- 
ence towards  advancing  the  belief  that  female  schools 
of  an  elevated  character  may  be  furnished  at  a  very 
moderate  expense.  I  have  much  stronger  desires  to 
do  something  towards  establishing  some  general  prin- 
ciples on  female  education  than  to  accomplish  much 
myself.  But  I  do  hope  that  Providence  will  open  a 
door  where  I  may  labor  directly  in  a  school  in  behalf 


M 


PLAN  OF  A  SEMINARY.  143 

of  this  great  and  important  cause,  as  I  believe  I  can 
do  more  in  this  way  than  in  any  other. 

"I  have  no  definite  spot  in  view  where  I  may 
spend  the  remnant  of  my  strength  in  behalf  of  an 
object  which  for  a  long  time  has  seemed  to  drink  up 
my  spirits.  I  have  not  been  so  affected,  because  this 
object  is  more  important  than  many  others,  but  on  the 
same  principle  that  I  should  be  more  moved  by  the 
cries  of  a  drowning  child  where  no  deliverer  was 
near,  than  by  those  of  one  actually  in  the  arms  of  re- 
lief. I  have  no  doubt  there  will  be  many  objections 
raised.  To  avoid  these,  as  far  as  possible,  as  well  as 
to  rouse  a  candid  attention  to  any  features  which  may 
be  somewhat  new  and  peculiar,  I  have  supposed  that, 
in  many  particulars,  it  would  be  of  great  importance 
to  meet  the  views  of  the  judicious  part  of  the  commu- 
nity. On  this  account,  I  have  been  desirous  that  a 
location  might  be  selected  by  a  committee  so  appoint- 
ed that  they  would  be  regarded  as  a  kind  of  repre- 
sentative of  the  public. 

"  I  cannot  now  therefore  give  any  definite  opinion 
with  regard  to  Andover  as  a  location.  If  it  should 
be  judged  by  gentlemen  from  different  parts  of  New 
England  to  be  favorable,  or  the  most  favorable  one 
for  which  there  is  any  probability  of  raising  funds,  I 
should  not  shrink  from  undertaking  even  there,  though 
it  would  be  a  location  attended  with  difficulties. 

"  The  question  of  the  expediency  of  my  devoting 
myself  to  this  object  in  some  place  farther  west,  has 
been  several  times  mentioned  to  me.  That  influence 
needs  to  be  put  forth  in  the  more  western  states,  as 
in  New  England,  cannot  be  doubted.    The  opinion 


144  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

which  has  so  universally  prevailed  here,  that  female 
seminaries  of  the  first  respectability  must  necessarily 
be  expensive,  has  overspread  the  whole  state  of  New 
York,  and  marched  on  farther  still,  keeping  pace  with 
every  effort  in  behalf  of  female  education.  As  I  be- 
lieve, with  many  others,  that  this  opinion  is  an  error, 
and  a  highly  injurious  one,  this  is  the  point  on  which 
my  mind  centres  more  than  on  any  other,  and  on  which 
I  wish  to  use  an  influence  as  far  as  I  can.  Consider- 
ing the  vast  importance  of  the  more  western  portion 
of  our  country,  and  the  more  abimdant  zeal,  and  the 
greater  rapidity  with  which  they  carry  any  thing  for- 
ward, when  they  are  once  convinced  of  its  importance, 
I  have  been  half  inclined,  at  times,  to  look  upon  some 
spot  beyond  the  limits  of  New  England  as  more  de- 
sirable for  experiments  on  this  subject.  But  consid- 
ering that  improvements  in  education  seldom  make 
any  progress  eastward,  my  purpose  to  live  and  labor 
in  New  England  has,  during  the  last  six  months,  be- 
come fixed  and  unchanging." 

To  ^iss  Hannah  White. 

"  Ipswich,  August  1,  1834. 
"  My  dear  Miss  White — How  long,  very  long  it 
is  since  you  have  written  to  me,  or  I  to  you.  I  can 
hardly  realize  that  I  have  so  little  intercourse  with 
those  whom  I  so  tenderly  love,  those  whom  I  once 
met  daily  face  to  face,  and  with  whom  I  held  delight- 
ful intercourse  sometimes  from  hour  to  hour.     But  it 

is  even  so.     I  have  not  written  to  dear  A for  a 

great,  very  great  while.  How  was  my  soul  knit  to 
her  soul.  Seldom  have  I  loved  any  one  so  much,  dear 
Miss  Grant  excepted.    But  wc  have  long  been  sepa- 


PLAN  OP  A  SEMINARY.  146 

rated,  perhaps  to  meet  no  more  on  earth.  Long  eep- 
aration  breaks  up  thejviyidness  of  affection,  but  the 
strength  still  remains.  How  delightful  will  it  be  to 
have  this  affection  renewed  in  heaven.  I  have  to  bid 
dear  Miss  Grant  farewell,  no  more  to  live  with  her  on 
earth.  This  separation  has  not  severed  my  heart,  but 
it  has  so  shaken  it  as  to  render  it  most  tenderly  alive 
to  all  emotions  of  affection,  which  have  sometimes 
seemed  to  lie  dormant.  I  love  more  than  ever  to 
dwell  on  those  friends  who  shared  the  warmth  of  my 
heart  in  my  younger  years. 

"  I  suppose  you  have  heard  that  I  am  endeavoring 
to  establish  a  manual  labor  school  for  ladies  1  I  have 
heard  so.  But  as  it  is  not  true,  I  wish  the  mistake 
could  be  corrected.  I  will  tell  you  what  I  should  be 
glad  to  have  done.  You  know  it  has  become  very 
popular  for  our  highest  and  best  seminaries  for  young 
men  to  be  moderate  in  their  expenses.  It  is  not  a 
sufficient  recommendation  for  a  college  to  be^  expen- 
sive. But  how  different  is  it  with  regard  to  female 
seminaries.  Even  at  the  present  time,  almost  in  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  do  not  many  value 
them  according  to  their  expensiveness  ?  Is  it  not 
rather  gratifying  to  young  ladies  to  attend  expensive 
schools,  when  perhaps  their  brothers  would  rather 
glory  in  pursuing  their  studies  at  a  moderate  expense  ? 
Is  there  not  a  general  feeling  that  female  education 
must  be  costly,  and  that  those  who  cannot  pay  the 
price  must  do  without  it  ?  Is  not  this  the  reason  why 
ladies  are  more  aristocratic  than  gentlemen,  and  why 
their  aristocracy  is  founded  on  so  much  more  despica- 
ble principles  ?    Would  it  not  be  a  less  evil  for  the 

Mary  Ljroo.  I 


146  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

farmers  and  mechanics  through  the  land,  who  must 
spend  all  their  time  in  laboring  to  support  their  fami- 
lies, to  have  scanty  stores  of  knowledge,  than  for  their 
wives,  who  must  train  up  their  children,  to  be  thus 
scantily  furnished? 

"  I  will  now  tell  you  what  I  wish  could  be  done. 
I  wish  the  same  public  interest  could  be  excited  to 
extend  female  education  to  the  common  walks  of  life, 
that  exists  with  regard  to  the  education  of  young 
men.  If  the  church  would  do  the  same  for  young 
ladies  that  she  has  done,  and  is  continually  doing,  for 
young  men,  the  work  would  be  accomplished.  0  that 
the  church  would  take  our  highest  female  seminaries 
under  her  direct  control,  protection,  and  support. 
And  do  you  not  believe  that  this  will  be  done  at  some 
future  time?  But  this  cannot  be  done,  unless  means 
are  used  to  secure  the  confidence  of  common  Chris- 
tians. And  if  any  institution  should  ask  for  public 
support,  would  it  not  be  desirable  that,  in  some  par- 
ticulars, it  should  present  certain  marked  features 
which  would  be  approved  by  common  Christians? 
On  this  account,  I  have  thought  that,  in  the  proposed 
seminary,  it  would  be  well  to  have  the  domestic  work 
done  by  the  members,  not  as  an  essential  feature  of 
the  institution,  but  as  a  mere  appendage.  But  this 
mere  appendage  ought,  by  no  means,  to  give  the  name 
of  manual  labor  to  the  scheme.  I  have  not  the  least 
faith  in  any  of  the  proposed  kinds  of  manual  labor,  by 
which  it  is  supposed  that  females  can  support  them- 
selves at  school,  such  as  raising  silk,  attending  to 
grape-vines,  spinning,  sewing,  etc.  I  should  expect 
that  any  attempt  of  the  kind  would  become  a  bill  of 


PLAN  OF  A  SEMINARY.  141 

expense,  rather  than  an  income,  to  any  female  semina- 
ry. After  the  acquaintance  I  have  had  with  many 
cultivated  and  interesting  families,  where  the  daugh- 
ters, in  a  systematic  manner,  perform  all  the  labor,  I 
have  the  greatest  confidence  that  a  system  might  be 
formed,  by  which  all  the  domestic  work  of  a  family  of 
one  hundred  could  be  performed  by  the  young  ladies 
themselves,  and  in  the  most  perfect  order,  without  any 
sacrifice  of  improvement  in  knowledge  or  of  refine- 
ment. Might  not  this  simple  feature  do  away  much 
of  the  prejudice  against  female  education  among  com- 
mon people?  If  this  prejudice  could  by  any  means 
be  removed,  how  much  would  it  do  for  the  cause. 
Some  of  the  specific  features  of  the  great  object  in 
which  I  am  engaged  will  seem  to  some  of  our  friends 
like  new  views,  different  from  my  former  ones.  Not 
so  new  as  might  seem ;  they  are  of  no  very  recent 
date.  The  only  difference  is,  that  I  did  not  consider 
it  expedient,  while  I  was  connected  with  Miss  Grant 
and  this  institution,  to  say  much  about  these  views.  I 
should  be  very  glad  to  see  you  a  day  or  two,  and  talk 
over  this  whole  subject." 

To  her  youngest  sister  she  writes,  August  26, "  You 
already  know  that  I  expect  to  close  my  labors  here, 
and  my  connection  with  Miss  Grant  on  earth,  this 
fall.  I  am  about  to  embark  in  a  frail  boat  on  a  bois- 
terous sea.  I  know  not  whither  I  shall  be  driven, 
nor  how  I  shall  be  tossed,  nor  to  what  port  I  shall 
aim.  I  know  not  what  is  before  me,  nor  where  will 
be  my  next  field  of  labor.  I  know  not  when  I  shall 
find  myself  engaged  in  regular  labor  in  the  great 


148  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

work  of  teaching,  for  which  Providence  has  fitted  me 
more  than  for  any  thing  else.  But  I  am  not  anxious. 
I  have  decided  to  close  my  labors  here,  because  I  felt 
it  to  be  probable  that  I  could  do  more  good  in  another 
field.  And  now,  after  breaking  asunder  a  thousand 
cords  to  separate  myself  from  this  beloved  institution, 
I  feel  that  I  must  at  present  keep  myself  disengaged 
from  any  school,  because  by  so  doing  I  have  more 
hope  that  the  way  will  be  open  for  me  yet  to  engage 
in  the  specific  field  in  which  my  heart  is  so  deeply  in- 
terested. I  never  had  a  prospect  of  engaging  in  any 
labor  which  seemed  so  directly  the  work  of  the  Lord 
as  this.  It  is  very  sweet,  in  the  midst  of  darkness  and 
doubt,  to  commit  the  whole  to  his  guidance. 

"  The  next  winter  I  want  to  spend  partly  in  study, 
and  partly  in  laying  out  plans  for  the  future,  writ- 
ing, etc.  I  wish  to  be  in  a  family  where  I  shall  meet 
friends,  and  where  I  shall  have  access  to  a  good  li- 
brary, and  in  a  town  where  I  shall  not  be  out  of  the 
way  of  society,  fbr  I  shall  often  want  counsel.  Provi- 
dence has  very  kindly  given  me  such  a  home  at  Am- 
herst, in  the  family  of  Professor  Hitchcock. 

"  The  religious  state  of  our  school  has  been  in 
some  degree  interesting.  Many  arc  anxious  for  the 
salvation  of  their  souls  ;  some  deeply  so.  A  few  have 
recently  expressed  hope.  The  interest  increases  from 
week  to  week.  I  want  that  you  and  dear  mother 
should  pray  for  us  much  while  the  school  shall  con- 
tinue, which  will  be  about  three  weeks  longer." 

Miss  Lyon  remained  in  the  school  at  Ipswich  till 
the  term  was  finished,  but  for  several  weeks  before  its 
close,  her  thoughts  and  energies  were  absorbed  in  her 


HER  QUALIFICATIONS.  149 

favorite  scheme,  and  it  was  evident  to  the  other 
teachers  that  she  had  a  great  work  before  her,  and 
was  straitened  until  it  should  be  accomplished.  Her 
plans  during  the  summer  had  assumed  a  definite  form, 
and  she  was  fully  ready  to  commence  her  prospective 
labors. 

It  seems  proper  to  pause  here,  and  take  a  survey 
of  Miss  Lyon's  qualifications  for  the  work  to  which 
she  was  now  sacredly  devoted. 

She  was  thirty-seven  years  of  age.  Her  health 
was  remarkably  good.  Her  power  of  endurance  was 
great.  Her  faith,  courage,  and  enthusiasm  were  un- 
bounded. Her  strong  common-sense  was  undiluted  by 
any  sentimental  weakness.  Probably  she  had  never 
read  a  novel  in  her  life,  certainly  not  after  she  be- 
came a  member  of  the  Sanderson  academy.  Her  most 
intimate  friend  Mrs.  Banister,  to  whom  she  was  as 
transparent  as  the  ether  around  us,  in  the  intercourse 
which  ran  through  a  quarter  of  a  century,  never  heard 
her  refer  or  allude  to  one  by  name.  Her  knowledge 
of  school  studies  was  liberal  and  exact;  and  what 
she  knew  was  always  at  hand,  and  in  serviceable 
order.  She  was  widely  known  as  a  thorough  teacher, 
a  successful  manager,  and  an  honorable  woman.  Her 
name  was  suflBcient  to' gather  around  her  scholars  of 
fine  minds,  high  moral  tone,  and  good  home  training. 
Though  her  presence  in  private  was  not  to  be  com- 
pared with  the  same  presence  in  the  desk,  yet  liberal 
and  discerning  minds  that  were  brought  into  contact 
with  her  even  for  a  single  half-hour,  felt  that  her  con- 
secration to  the  great  object  before  her,  her  energy, 


150  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

and  perseverance,  would  insure  the  accomplishment  of 
her  plans. 

Miss  Lyon  at  this  time  had  a  familiar  and  prac- 
tical acquaintance  with  mind.  Few  could  take  the 
measure  of  hers ;  she  measured  every  one  she  met. 
She  had  studied  her  scholars  until  she  instinctively 
read  and  analyzed  every  character  that  came  under 
her  observation.  She  knew  that  the  arguments  which 
had  commended  her  plan  to  her  own  understanding, 
would,  if  fairly  presented,  convince  many  others.  She 
was  not  therefore  afraid  to  go  in  search  of  minds 
that  could  comprehend  and  appreciate  her  great  and 
darling  object. 

She  had  a  distinct  conception  of  the  seminary  she 
was  to  found.  The  pattern  had  been  shown  her  by 
Him  who  orders  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his 
own  will,  and  directs  trains  of  thought  no  less  than 
events.  To  the  embodying  of  this  vision,  she  had 
solemnly  consecrated  the  residue  of  her  life.  She 
accepted  this  as  the  work  appointed  by  her  heavenly 
Father,  without  one  misgiving  as  to  the  final  result. 
With  a  property  of  less  than  two  thousand  dollars, 
and  with  powers  and  attainments  that  would  have 
secTired  an  ample  salary,  she  turned  from  every  school 
and  every  service  that  promised  pecuniary  reward, 
and  at  her  own  charges  undertook  a  long  and  painful 
warfare,  to  found  an  institution  from  which,  though 
it  were  under  God  her  own  creation,  she  inflexibly 
resolved  to  receive  for  compensation  only  a  home  and 
two  hundred  dollars  a  year.  Not  a  man  of  wealth 
had  at  this  time  givefl  her  his  countenance  and  aid. 
Even  the  religions  press,  in  most  cases,  declined  to 


HER  QUALIFICATIONS.  151 

publish  the  articles  she  sent  them,  setting  forth  the 
plans  and  principles  of  the  proposed  institution.  Very- 
few  of  the  ministers  were  interested  in  her  project, 
and  the  public  were  in  quiet  ignorance  of  her  plans. 
Yet  she  was  not  wholly  alone.  A  few  gentlemen  who 
had  known  her  long  and  well,  relying  on  her  under- 
standing, energy,  and  benevolence,  lent  her  their  ear, 
and  gave  her  their  influence.  In  the  hundreds  of 
young  ladies  scattered  over  the  state  who  had  enjoyed 
her  instructions,  she  had  intelligent  and  efficient  friends. 
In  herself  and  in  her  scholars  she  was  a  host. 

Her  superior  estimate  of  mind,  intelligence,  and 
goodness,  and  her  indifference  to  things  that  perish 
in  the  using,  were  a  part  of  her  outfit  for  her  mission. 
She  had  learned  the  infinite  value  of  those  possessions 
which  the  soul  can  take  across  the  river  of  death. 
In  her  eyes,  every  thing  else  was  of  small  conse- 
quence. The  notice  and  favor  of  the  great  constituted 
no  part  of  her  ambition.  The  parade  of  wealth  and 
the  glitter  of  pageantry  could  not  dazzle  her  eyes. 
They  had  come  to  be  but  the  rattles  and  trinkets  of 
babyhood.  No  display  of  costly  silks  or  precious 
gems  could  divert  her  eyes  from  the  soul  within,  hast- 
ening on  to  the  judgment.  The  boast  of  family  was 
but  a  waste  of  breath  in  her  ears.  She  knew  no  satis- 
faction in  ancestry  beyond  the  remembrance  of  their 
piety.  Yet  she  made  no  war  on  the  factitious  dis- 
tinctions of  society.  A  school  and  a  church,  she  said, 
should  not  know  such  distinctions.  She  was  consti- 
tutionally indiffeceatio  dress,  and  to  what  in  common 
parlance  is  called  gentility.  The  shade  of  a  color,  the 
fit  of  a  glove,  or  the  texture  of  a  shawl,  never  as- 


152  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

Bumed  in  her  eyes  more  than  its  true  importance. 
How  many  times  during  her  last  two  years  at  Ips- 
wich, did  she  say,  "  My  heart  is  sick,  my  soul  is  pain- 
ed with  this  empty  gentility,  this  genteel  nothing- 
ness." In  her  estimation,  clothing,  food,  and  outward 
manner,  were  not  ends,  but  only  means.  In  her  early 
and  susceptible  years,  her  mother  had  turned  her 
attention  to  that  adorning  which  is  incorruptible  and 
in  the  sight  of  God  of  great  price,  which  money  can- 
not buy,  nor  artificial  rules  confer.  Her  beloved 
daughter  wore  ever,  where  all  who  approached  her 
could  see  it,  the  ornament  of  a  guileless,  pure,  hum- 
ble, enlightened,  and  intensely  benevolent  spirit.  A 
question  in  dress  she  was  obliged  to  study  as  closely 
as  most  ladies  would  one  in  political  economy,  which 
she  in  her  turn  would  grasp  almost  intuitively.  It 
was  the  drudgery  of  her  life  to  see  that  her  outward 
robes  conformed  to  her  station.  When  she  stood  be- 
fore the  glass,  her  thoughts  were  at  the  world's  end, 
or  above  it.  Her  room-mate  in  1834  says,  she  well 
remembers  her  standing  before  the  mirror  in  their 
room,  adjusting  her  bonnet  strings,  and  saying  at  the 
same  time,  in  an  impressive  manner,  "  Well,  I  may  fail 
of  heaven,  but  I  shall  be  very  much  disappointed  if  I 
do,"  and  then  slowly  and  emphatically  repeating, "  very 
much  disappointed." 

These  points  in  her  character,  whether  they  were 
the  result  of  constitutional  bias,  of  education,  or  of 
grace,  fitted  her  for  bearing  the  burdens  which  she 
was  assuming  when  she  left  the  Ipswich  school.  They 
helped  her  to  be  willing  to  make  herself  of  no  repu- 
tation, and  to  do  any  thing  that  was  not  sinful  to 


HER  QUALIFICATIONS.  158 

procure  the  timber  and  tke  stone,  the  gold  and  the 
silver  necessary  to  the  temple  which  her  heart  was 
set  on  building  for  the  Lord  her  God.  Of  course 
she  was  to  make  many  unsuccessful  applications  for 
aid  ;  and  almost  equally  of  course,  some  who  refused 
her  would  say  that  she  was  a  masculine  woman,  or 
that  her  plans  were  chimerical.  Certain  that  her 
work  would  be  understood  when  it  was  accomplished, 
she  was  prepared  to  hear  such  remarks  without  the 
least  loss  of  temper.  They  grated  on  her  soul  like 
discord  on  the  ear,  but  she  could  soon  compose  herself, 
saying,  "Why  should  I  suffer  when  I  know  the  con- 
trary ?"  Not  an  unkind  word  in  such  cases  escaped 
her ;  and  those  who  uttered  reproaches  were  never 
able  to  divine,  from  her  manner  towards  them,  that  a 
bird  of  the  air  had  borne  them  to  her  ear. 

But  the  best  of  all  her  qualifications  was  her  emi- 
nent piety,  and  the  power  and  skill  she  had  attained 
in  presenting  gospel  truth.  For  several  years  before 
she  left  Ipswich,  it  was  a  rich  entertainment  to  hear 
her  unfold  the  hidden  wealth  of  some  simple  text. 
During  Miss  Grant's  absence  she  had  stood  at  the 
head  of  the  school,  and  had  consequently  been  in  the 
habit  of  occupying  half  an  hour  in  the  morning,  three 
days  in  the  week,  in  explaining  and  enforcing  some 
particular  scriptural  truth.  The  ten  commandments, 
for  example,  the  sermon  on  the  mount,  the  first  chap- 
ter of  first  of  Peter,  and  many  other  parts  of  the  Bible, 
she  had  presented,  text  by  text,  and  clause  by  clause, 
to  attentive  listeners.  She  came  to  her  hearers  in 
the  fulness  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Unseen  things,  in 
her  mind,  were  living  realities,  and  seemed  to  become 

T 


164  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

such  to  those  to  whom  she  described  them.  Her 
faith  was  substance  ;  and  her  imagination,  fertile  and 
sacred  as  the  garden  of  the  Lord,  was  put  under  its 
tuition.  She  had  a  great  deal  of  moral  intuition,  and 
she  never  exhausted  that  fund  of  great  first  truths  to 
which  the  human  heart  echoes  a  response,  and  which 
find  their  way  directly,  when  properly  presented,  to 
the  consciences  of  intelligent  moral  beings.  Her 
manner  was  simple.  There  was  not  the  slightest 
appearance  of  speaking  for  effect,  or  trying  to  speak 
eloquently.  The  speaker  was  in  the  shade,  where 
she  evidently  wished  to  be,  completely  hidden  by  the 
truth  she  was  holding  forth.  She  did  not  crowd 
ideas  before  the  mind,  but  would  dwell  on  one  impor- 
tant thought,  present  it  in  different  lights,  illustrate 
it  in  several  ways,  and  detain  her  hearers  on  it  till 
they  were  as  fully  possessed  of  it  as  she  was.  How 
many  have  heard  her  thus  dwell  on  the  passage, 
"  Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap," 
nntil  their  minds  were  all  pervaded  with  the  great 
truth,  that  they  were  to  meet  the  deeds  of  every  day 
hereafter.  A  part  of  her  power  lay  in  securing  con- 
tinued attention  to  one  single,  but  great  and  solemn 
conception.  Active  as  was  her  own  mind,  and  easy 
as  it  was  for  her  to  grasp  large  ideas,  and  to  survey 
many  almost  in  a  single  breath,  she  could  parcel  out 
truth  in  those  small  proportions  in  which  common 
minds  are  obliged  to  receive  it.  The  superior  schol- 
ars who  loved  to  give  themselves  up  to  a  kind  of 
moral  exhilaration,  and  those  of  spiritual  discern- 
ment who  watched  the  effect  of  truth  on  other  minds, 
were  never  weary  of  her  religious  instruction. 


HER  QUALIFICATIONS.  155 

The  vividness  with  which  she  evidently  saw  and 
felt  the  very  truth  she  was  uttering,  was  one  secret 
of  her  power.  If  she  had  ever  a  flitting  doubt  of  the 
certainty  of  future  retribution,  that  doubt  was  never 
Known  or  suspected  by  her  most  intimate  friends. 
The  foundations  of  her  faith  never  wavered.  It 
seemed  as  though  the  principles  of  our  holy  religion 
were  interwoven  with  the  fibres  of  her  soul.  The 
world  to  come  was  as  present  to  her  thoughts  as  this 
world  to  her  eyes.  Her  confidence  in  God  was  as 
simple  and  true  as  a  child's  in  its  mother.  She  felt 
the  Saviour  to  be  present  with  her,  her  friend,  her 
counsellor,  sustaining  and  directing  as  really  as  though 
she  had  seen  him  at  her  side,  had  leaned  bodily  on 
his  arm,  had  heard  his  lips  respond  to  her  petitions, 
and  seen  his  wounded,  but  almighty  hands  reach  down 
deliverance. 

The  commands  of  God  were  as  practical  to  her 
as  the  commands  of  a  father  to  the  docile  child  at  his 
knee.  She  ran  the  way  of  his  commandments.  They 
were  welcome  to  her  soul.  It  was  hardly  a  self-denial 
to  her  to  keep  them.  It  was  to  her  a  delightful  fact, 
that  the  eye  of  God  never  wandered  from  her,  and 
one  of  which  she  seemed  ever  joyfully  conscious — 
somewhat  as  we  are  conscious  of  light  and  the  pres- 
ence of  the  sun,  even  though  our  minds  are  intensely 
occupied  with  a  different  class  of  subjects.  She  de- 
lighted to  discover  the  great  principles  of  God's  gov- 
ernment in  his  word  and  works,  in  providence  and 
grace.  In  this  science  she  was  an  apt  scholar,  ever 
learning  and  ever  coming  nearer  those  great  and 
magnificent  truths  which  doubtless  she  still  studieB 


156  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

and  comprehends  more  fully  than  when  an  inhabi- 
tant of  earth,  and  yet  still  sees  a  boundless  ocean 
beyond.  When  she  undertook  to  bring  these  truths 
before  the  minds  of  her  pupils,  the  effort  conduced  to 
make  them  clearer  to  her  own  spirit's  eye.  While 
feasting  others,  she  was  herself  feasted.  It  was  be- 
cause God  "v^as  so  glorious  to  her,  that  she  made  him 
glorious  to  her  pupils.  What  she  spoke  of  was  real- 
ity to  her,  and  hence  her  words  had  an  indescribable 
power.  Her  energetic  way  of  saying  the  most  com- 
mon thing  absolutely  constrained  you  to  attend  ;  but 
there  was  something  more  than  that  in  the  calm,  sub- 
dued, unearthly  tone  in  which  she  dealt  out  heavenly 
wisdom.  When  she  opened  the  terrors  of  the  law 
before  her  hearers,  it  was  a  dying  sinner  spreading 
the  most  awful  truth  before  dying  sinners.  It  was 
the  warning  voice  of  one  who  saw  the  yawning  gulf. 
She  would  point  to  the  dark,  shelving,  fatal  precipice 
without  a  gesture,  without  a  motion,  save  of  her  mov- 
ing lips,  her  hand  laid  devoutly  on  that  well-worn 
octavo  Bible.  She  would  uncover  the  fiery  billows 
rolling  below,  in  the  natural,  but  low,  deep  tones  with 
which  men  talk  of  their  wills,  their  coflSns,  and  their 
graves.  If  she  had  been  to  Westminster  Abbey,  and 
had  been  describing  its  treasured  monuments,  she 
would  have  awakened  no  more  sense  of  reality.  This 
fcuth  was  the  mainspring  of  her  power.  She  said 
little  by  way  of  entreaty.  She  never  begged  and 
besought  her  pupils  to  serve  God,  as  though  the 
Infinite  could  not  do  without  them.  Religion  was 
not  degraded  by  representing  it  as  begging  for  vota- 
ries.   Sometimes  she  would  lift  the  curtain,  and  give 


HER  QUALIFICATIONS.  15*1 

her  auditors  a  glance  into  the  holy  of  holies.  When 
the  soul  was  ravished  with  glories  that  no  tongue  can 
fully  describe,  she  would  turn  and  say,  so  effectively, 
"  But  there  will  be  no  vacant  seat  there.  If  any  one 
chooses  to  break  away  from  the  vows  her  parents 
have  made  for  her,  if  she  chooses  to  separate  from 
her  Christian  friends,  her  absence  will  not  be  felt  in 
that  happy  throng.  Heaven  will  be  full  without  her." 
She  set  life  and  death  before  her  pupils.  In  the  name 
of  her  Saviour,  she  offered  them  salvation.  She  held 
forth  the  hope  that  they  might  find,  if  they  sought. 
She  offered  pearls  only  to  the  discerning.  That  wait- 
ing soul,  how  she  would  describe  its  capabilities,  its 
ever-growing  susceptibility  to  joy  or  woe,  its  continued 
existence,  its  identity  through  all  this  infinity  of  expe- 
rience, as  if  she  had  herself  been  through  it  all.  It 
was  not  the  words,  nor  the  manner,  nor  the  thoughts, 
but  it  was  the  whole  effect,  which^fras  wonderful. 
It  was  the  conception  her  hearers  formed  of  the  truth 
she  exhibited.  With  wha1>  a  sense  of  present  reality 
would  they  feel  that,  a  thousand  years  hence,  they 
would  remember,  as  though  it  were  but  yesterday,  sit- 
ting on  those  seats,  and  accepting  or  refusing  offers  of 
mercy.  She  would  carry  the  soul  forward  into  the 
midst  of  the  glowing  realities  of  eternity.  Such  con- 
ceptions will  outlive  death  and  the  grave.  They  are 
still  the  aliment  of  the  souls  that  here  began  to  feed 
on  them.  They  fill  the  mind  in  its  most  solemn  mo- 
ments, but  they  cannot  be  described.  Like  the  things 
shown  to  Paul,  they  are  unutterable.  They  were 
none  the  less  impressive  because  they  cannot  be  de- 
tailed.    Miss  Lyon  worked  her  way  down  to  the 


'S^-^ 


158  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

depths  of  the  soul,  and  planted  seeds  there  to  germi- 
nate, and  grow,  and  yield  fruit  in  the  after-life,  and 
to  eternity. 

These  and  similar  instructions  from  kindred  minds, 
were  richly  attended  with  the  renewing  and  sanctify- 
ing influences  of  the  Spirit.  More  than  half  of  those 
who  entered  the  school  impenitent,  and  remained  for 
any  length  of  time,  left  with  a  warm  and  permanent 
interest  in  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  Many  Chris- 
tians also  had  received  there  a  new  impulse  in  the 
divine  life.  These  pupils,  as  the  standing  representa- 
tives of  the  institution  Miss  Lyon  declared  it  her  aim 
to  stereotype,  disposed  the  community  to  favor  her 
plans.  It  was  the  testimony  both  of  herself  and  of 
her  agent,  Rev.  Roswell  Hawks,  that  when  they  went 
to  towns  where  any  of  these  pupils  were  located,  they 
found  the  way^epared  for  their  efforts,  and  gained 
a  readier  acccS^X)  the  hearts  of  the  people.  Minis- 
ters and  laymen  who  loved  revivals,  and  loved  to  see 
the  young  choosing  the  path  that  leads  to  eternal  life, 
were  glad  to  hear  of  a  plan  for  perpetuating  these 
happy  influences  in  a  seminary  which  might  live  and 
do  good  after  they  should  be  gathered  to  their  fa- 
thers. 

Thus  ripe  was  Miss  Lyon,  at  the  period  of  which 
we  are  speaking,  in  power,  in  piety,  and  in  influence. 
Thus  also,  while  many  even  good  people  hesitated 
and  some  opposed,  had  the  providence  of  God  raised 
up  a  still  greater  number  of  earnest  minds  that  were 
prepared  to  welcome  her  mission  with  corresponding 
faith,  hope,  and  zeal. 


FRIENDS  ENLISTED.  159 

CHAPTER  VI. 

ENLISTMENT  OF  INFLUENTIAL  FRIENDS. 

On  September  6, 1834,  a  few  days  before  the  term 
closed,  a  few  gentlemen  met  in  Miss  Lyon's  private  par- 
lor in  Ipswich,  to  devise  ways  and  means  for  founding 
a  permanent  female  seminary  upon  a  plan  embracing 
her  favorite  views  and  principles.  It  had  been  sug- 
gested that  the"  first  movement  towards  the  object 
should  be  made  in  the  Essex  County  Teachers'  Asso- 
ciation ;  but  Rev.  Dr.  Packard  of  Shelburne,  who 
was  in  Ipswich  as  the  informal  representative  of  his 
part  of  the  state,  objected  that  in  such  bodies  there 
was  apt  to  be  much  talk  and  little  progress,  and  sug- 
gested, instead,  the  calling  of  a  me^pg  of  a  few 
friends  of  education  for  the  purpose.  '^Sb  point  being 
yielded  to  his  judgment,  some  dozen  gentlemen  of 
known  benevolence  and  candor  were  invited  to  at- 
tend the  proposed  meeting.  Miss  Lyon  writes,  on 
September  8th,  "  Dr.  Packard  came  here  last  Wednes- 
day evening,  and  left  this  morning.  We  talked  much 
of  the  time,  for  three  days,  respecting  the  proposed 
seminary.  A  meeting  of  a  few  gentlemen  was  held 
on  Saturday,  and  Rev.  Drs.  Dana  and  Packard,  Pro- 
fessor Hitchcock,  Rev.  Mr.  Felt,  Mr.  George  W.  Heard, 
Mr.  David  Choate,  and  General  Howland,  were  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  make  a  commencement,  and 
go  on — ^provided  they  are  successful — to  appoint  trus- 
tees, etc.  A  circular  is  soon  to  be  printed,  with  the 
doings  of  the  meeting." 


160  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

The  committee  appointed,  at  this  quiet  meeting, 
which  was  scarcely  known  to  twenty  persons  out  of 
the  room  where  it  was  held,  supplied  their  own  va- 
cancies, and  added  to  their  number,  from  time  to  time, 
Rev.  Roswell  Hawks,  Rev.  William  Tyler,  Rev.  John 
Todd,  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  Penney,  Rev.  Joseph  D.  Con- 
dit,  Mr.  William  Bowdoin,  and  Mr.  Samuel  Williston, 
and  stood  before  the  public  as  the  responsible  agents 
for  establishing  the  proposed  seminary  until,  a  charter 
having  been  obtained  and  trustees  appointed,  their 
services  were  no  longer  needed.  Some  of  them  be- 
came trustees,  and  others  resigned  their  places  on  the 
committee.  • 

The  first  contribution  towards  the  funds  of  the 
projected  seminary  was  made  soon  after  the  meeting 
just  mentioned.  Miss  Lyon  proposed  to  raise  one 
thousand  doyip  from  ladies,  as  a  fund  for  the  contin- 
gent expenses  of  the  undertaking.  The  school  over 
which  she  was  presiding  had  been  accustomed,  once 
or  twice  a  year,  to  unite  in  a  contribution  to  some 
one  of  the  leading  benevolent  societies.  She  pro- 
posed to  them,  on  that  occasion,  to  make  her  prqjected 
seminary  the  object  of  their  charities.  A  freewill- 
offering  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-nine  dollars  was 
the  result.  She  next  applied  to  the  ladies  in  Ips- 
wich, who  contributed  four  hundred  and  seventy-five 
dollars  more  towards  the  proposed  thousand.  Miss 
Lyon  herself  went  from  house  to  house  to  solicit 
subscriptions.  The  Ipswich  ladies  have  a  vivid  rec- 
ollection of  her  farewell  visits  that  autumn.  She 
represented  her  object  as  calling  the  most  loudly  for 
aid,  because,  though  very  deserving,  it  was  the  most 


FRIENDS  ENLISTED.  161 

unknown,  unnoticed,  and  unappreciated  by  the  benev- 
olent community.  She  talked,  now  with  the  lady 
of  the  house,  now  with  the  husband.  She  told  the 
husbands,  in  a  very  good-natured  but  earnest  way, 
that  she  had  come  to  get  them  to  cut  off  one  little 
corner  of  their  estates,  and  give  it  to  their  wives  to 
invest  in  the  form  of  a  seminary  for  young  ladies. 
She  held  before  them  the  object  dear  to  her  heart — 
the  bringing  of  a  liberal  education  within  the  means 
of  the  daughters  of  the  common  people,  till  it  loomed 
up  to  them,  for  the  time,  as  it  did  ever  before  her 
eyes.  She  asked  the  lady  whether,  if  she  wanted  a 
new  shawl,  a  card-table,  a  n£w  carpet,  or  some  other 
article  of  elegance  in  her  furniture  or  wardrobe,  she 
could  not  contrive  means  to  procure  it.  She  spread 
out  the  whole  subject,  talking  so  fast  that  her  hearers 
could  hardly  say  a  word,  answering  every  objection 
before  it  was  uttered,  and  finally  appealing  to  their 
individual  humanity  and  benevolence.  She  poured 
out  truth,  she  offered  arguments  to  make  out  her 
case,  and,  last  and  best  of  all,  she  carried  the  will  of 
nearly  every  person  with  whom  she  labored.  Ladies 
that,  in  ordinary  subscriptions  to  benevolent  objects, 
did  well  to  put  down  their  fifty  cents,  gave  her  five 
or  ten  dollars  of  hard-earned  money,  collected  by  the 
slow  gains  of  patient  industry,  and  gave  it  of  their 
own  free  will,  yea,  gave  it  as  a  privilege  from  which 
they  would  not  have  been  willing  to  be  debarred. 
They  paid  it  on  the  spot,  grateful  that  it  had  come 
to  their  hands  at  such  a  time  as  that.  Every  dollar 
of  that  money  was  well  invested.  All  of  it  brought 
her  a  hundred  per  cent.    It  was,  as  Miss  Lyon  always 


162  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

called  it,  the  corner-stone  of  that  noble  edifice.  She 
carried  the  story  of  the  liberality  of  those  ladies  from 
town  to  town.  Wherever  she  collected  the  ladies  to 
awaken  their  zeal  in  behalf  of  her  undertaking,  there 
with  her  impassioned  eloquence  she  stirred  up  the 
spirit  of  emulation  by  holding  up  the  example  of  the 
Ipswich  ladies  ;  and  in  the  next  two  years,  those  five 
talents  gained  many  more. 

She  wrote  letters  to  former  pupils  of  the  Ipswich 
school,  soliciting  their  aid  in  making  up  this  contin- 
gent fand.  She  went  herself  to  ladies  with  whom 
she  was  acquainted,  in  the  towns  about  Ipswich,  and 
invited  them  to  contribute  to  it.  Such  was  her  per- 
severance, that  in  less  than  two  months  the  sum  was 
nearly  raised.  It  was  a  pledge  of  her  future  suc- 
cess. She  used  to  say  that  it  was  a  thorough  commit- 
ment of  herself  and  all  concerned  to  the  object.  The 
effort  to  raise  this  fund,  together  with  her  labors  in 
school,  made  her  almost  sick.  She  writes  to  Miss 
Grant,  October  7, "  I  do  not  recollect  being  so  fatigued, 
even  to  prostration,  as  I  have  been  for  a  few  weeks 
past,  since  I  have  been  connected  with  the  institution, 
except  during  your  sickness  in  1828,  and  a  year  ago 
last  spring.  The  school  business,  as  usual,  accumu- 
lated ;  the  business  relating  to  my  future  enterprise 
hung  in  suspense  all  summer,  and  then  required  nearly 
a  week  of  my  time  near  the  close  of  school,  besides 
absorbing  much  strength  of  intellect  and  of  the  inner 
soul." 

When,  from  long  and  close  application,  Miss  Lyon 
became  brain-weary,  it  was  her  practice,  at  this  period 
of  her  life,  to  sink  voluntarily  into  a  state  of  absolute 


FRIENDS  ENLISTED.  163 

rest  for  one,  two,  or  three  days,  as  the  case  might 
require,  keeping  her  bed  most  of  the  time,  and  taking 
very  little  food.  From  such  seasons  she  would  come 
forth  rejuvenated,  and  ready  for  a  campaign  that 
would  exhaust  any  body  else. 

Always  preferring  that  the  proposed  school  should 
be  located  in  the  central  or  western  part  of  the  state, 
after  leaving  Ipswich  she  took  up  her  abode  for  the 
winter  at  Amherst.  She  attended  some  of  the  college 
lectures,  and  reviewed  the  natural  sciences,  that  she 
might  be  the  better  fitted  to  superintend  the  education 
of  her  future  scholars.  She  improved  every  oppor- 
tunity that  offered  for  conversing  on  her  project  with 
the  intelligent  gentlemen  whom  she  met.  "Whenever 
there  was  a  prospect  of  forwarding  her  plans  by  her 
presence  in  any  other  part  of  the  state,  she  was  sure 
to  be  promptly  there.  Some  very  important  questions 
were  settled  that  fall  and  winter.  One  was,  whether 
the  funds  should  consist  of  free  donations  or  of  pro- 
prietary subscriptions.  Dr.  Packard  devised  a  plan 
for  raising  funds  by  scholarships  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  each,  to  be  owned  in  whole,  half,  or 
quarter  shares,  the  owner  or  owners  being  at  liberty 
to  send  a  pupil  for  fifteen  dollars  a  year  less  than 
others.  But  Miss  Lyon  saw  objections  to  this  scheme 
which  appeared  to  her  so  great  that  she  doubted 
whether  it  would  be  right  for  her  to  go  forward  in 
case  it  were  adopted.  After  much  free  and  friendly 
conference,  the  committee  decided  to  depend  on  the 
freewill-offerings  of  an  enlightened  Christian  public. 

The  question  of  location  was  settled  that  winter. 
The  towns  of  South  Deerfield,  Sunderland,  and  South 


164  LIFE  OF  MART  LYON. 

Hadley  each  offered  handsome  subscriptions,  if  the 
seminary  might  be  located  within  its  limits. 

A  meeting  of  the  committee  was  held  at  Worcester, 
January  8,  1835,  at  which  South  Hadley  was  fixed 
upon  as  the  location,  provided  the  subscription  there 
could  be  raised  to  eight  thousand  dollars.  It  was 
the  wish  of  the  gentlemen  that  Miss  Lyon  should  be 
there,  that  they  might  be  able  to  consult  her  in  the 
course  of  the  meeting.  The  thermometer  was  below 
zero  on  the  night  when  she  and  Professor  Hitchcock 
left  Amherst  for  Worcester.  Having  commended 
themselves  to  God,  they  took  their  seats  in  the  stage 
some  three  or  four  hours  before  sunrise,  each  wrapped 
in  a  buffalo  robe.  Miss  Lyon  said  she  never  suffered 
less  from  a  journey  in  her  life.  From  Worcester  she 
wrote  to  Miss  Grant : 

*'  Last  night,  about  midnight,  Mr.  Felt  came  and 
told  me  that  the  question  of  the  location  at  South 
Deerfield  was  decided  in  the  negative.  My  heart 
was  filled  with  gratitude  to  Him  who  directs  all 
events  according  to  his  own  infinite  wisdom.  The 
other  two  places  are  to  be  considered  to-day.  Be- 
tween them  I  had  no  choice,  and  it  did  appear  to  me 
that  I  could  commit  the  whole  to  God  more  entirely 
than  ever  before.  The  decision,  as  Mr.  Heard  will 
tell  you,  is  in  favor  of  South  Hadley." 

Writing  to  her  mother  from  Amherst,  April  2, 
1835,  she  says,  "I  have  been  to  Ipswich  twice  this 
winter.  The  last  time  I  staid  two  weeks.  There  I 
have  enjoyed  much  that  relates  to  this  world,  and 
much,  I  hope,  that  relates  to  a  better.  There,  more 
than  anywhere  else,  I  have  looked  out  upon  this 


FRIENDS  ENEISTED.  165 

broad  and  wicked  world,  till  my  heart  has  longed 
that  laborers  might  go  forth  to  reap  the  harvest 
which  is  already  ripe  for  gathering.  When  I  have 
there  looked  around  on  those  committed  to  my  care, 
how  has  my  heart  gone  forth  in  their  behalf,  that  they 
might  be  ready  to  do  with  their  might  what  their 
hands  find  to  do. 

"  I  often  feel  that  my  life  is  far  advanced,  and  that 
I  can  do  but  little  more  myself.  But  this  great  work 
is  all  to  be  done  through  human  instrumentality.  How 
small  a  portion  of  it  has  yet  been  done !  0  that  I 
might  do  a  little  more  before  I  depart  hence.  But 
my  greatest  hope  is,  that  I  may  have  the  privilege 
of  encouraging,  stimulating,  and  strengthening  some 
who  may  continue  to  labor  when  I  am  laid  in  the 
grave.  It  is  so  pleasant  for  me  to  go  to  Ipswich,  I 
am  rather  glad  that  I  occasionally  have  business 
which  calls  me  there.  But  it  awakens  many  tender 
and  sad  emotions.  Sometimes  I  fear  that  I  never 
shall  have  another  field  of  labor  where  I  can  do  so 
much  good.  But  if  the  Lord  has  more  work  for  me 
to  do  in  the  world,  he  will  provide  it  for  me,  and  point 
out  the  way. 

"  For  special  reasons,  I  think  it  best  to  keep  my- 
self disengaged  from  any  school  till  the  new  school 
goes  into  operation  in  South  Hadley.  But  the  work 
goes  forward  very  slowly.  It  will  be  a  great  while 
before  I  can  expect  the  privilege  of  laboring  there. 
Will  you,  my  dear  mother,  pray  for  this  new  institu- 
tion, that  God  loill  open  the  hearts  of  his  children  in  its 
behalf,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  may  rest  on  its 
future  teachers  and  pupils,  that  it  may  be  a  spot  where 


166  LIFE  OP»MARY  LYON. 

Bouls  may  be  bom  of  God,  and  saints  quickened  in 
their  Lord's  service?  It  is  my  heart's  desire,  that 
holiness  to  the  Lord  may  be  inscribed  upon  all  con- 
nected with  it,  and  that  a  succession  of  teachers  may 
be  raised  up,  who  shall  there  continue  to  labor  for 
Christ  long  after  we  are  laid  in  our  graves." 

This  prayer  of  Miss  Lyon,  which,  while  she  sought 
the  intercessions  of  others,  she  continually  offered 
herself,  that  "  God  would  open  the  hearts  of  his  chil- 
dren in  behalf  of  this  new  institution,"  seemed  several 
times  to  be  directly  answered.  One  such  instance 
we  will  give.  A  gentleman  in  Boston  whom  the 
Lord  had  blessed  with  competence,  had  decided  that 
all  the  increase  of  his  property,  over  and  above  what 
was  needed  for  the  support  of  his  family,  should  not 
merely  bo  held  as  the  Lord's,  but  should  be,  year 
by  year,  spent  in  his  service.  Subsequently  to  this 
resolve,  he  married  a  lady  of  one  mind  with  himself 
on  this  subject.  Previous  to  their  marriage,  she  had 
read  some  articles  in  a  religious  newspaper  giving  an 
outline  of  the  proposed  school.  In  the  course  of  her 
own  education,  she  had  been  sent  to  a  school  where 
the  instruction  given  and  the  money  expended  for  it 
seemed  to  be  almost  in  an  inverse  ratio,  and  she  had 
had  the  good  sense  to  make  the  discovery.  A  semi- 
nary for  young  ladies  of  high  order,  where  the  ex- 
penses should  be  put  at  cost,  fully  met  her  views.  On 
a  journey  with  her  husband  from  Boston  to  Belcher- 
town  in  their  own  carriage,  she  beguiled  the  way 
with  conversation  on  this  subject,  and  they  agreed  to 
use  some  of  their  surplus  funds  for  this  object.  As 
they  entered  Belchertown,  some  unoccupied  buildings 


FRIENDS  ENLISTED.  l&l 

attracted  their  attention.  Learning  that  they  were 
for  sale,  and  that  Miss  Lyon  was  probably  the  author 
of  the  newspaper  articles  referred  to,  they  caused  a 
letter  to  be  written  to  her,  inquiring  whether  she 
could  make  use  of  these  buildings  in  her  enterprise. 
Months  before.  Professor  B.  B.  Edwards  had  men- 
tioned to  Miss  Lyon  the  name  of  this  very  gentleman 
as  one  who,  if  he  could  be  enlisted,  might  be  relied  on 
for  counsel  and  aid  in  her  work.  She  thought  he 
might  own  the  buildings  in  Belchertown,  and  be  de- 
sirous to  see  them  turned  to  some  practical  account, 
and  feared  he  might  not  look  on  her  plans  with  fa- 
vor. Yet  she  ventured  to  write  him,  saying  that  she 
should  be  glad  to  converse  with  him,  and  requesting 
an  interview.  He  replied  by  inviting  her  to  his 
house.  She  accepted  the  invitation.  She  laid  her 
plans  before  him  and  his  companion,  watching  with 
intense  anxiety,  not  merely  their  words,  but  every 
expression  in  their  faces,  never  imagining  how  the 
Lord  had  prepared  the  way  for  her  visit.  They  lis- 
tened to  her  with  deep  and  eager  interest.  When 
they  went  to  their  room,  the  gentleman  said  to  his 
wife,  "  How  much  do  you  think  I  had  better  give  to 
Miss  Lyon  ?"  She  replied,  "  I  thought,  perhaps  you 
would  give  five  hundred  dollars."  The  husband  was 
surprised  at  her  answer ;  but  he  slept  upon  the  sub- 
ject, and  gladdened  the  hearts  of  the  friends  of  the 
enterprise  by  afl&xing  that  sum  to  his  well-known 
name.  It  was  the  first,  but  by  no  means  was  it  the 
last  five  hundred  dollars  which  he  gave  to  that  cause. 
His  interest  in  the  seminary  increased  until  it  became 
a  favorite  child  of  his  charities,  securing  his  thoughts 


168  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

as  well  as  his  money,  and  occupying  scarcely  a  less 
place  in  his  affections  than  in  those  of  Miss  Lyon. 
The  time,  influence,  and  sympathy  which  he  and  his 
wife  gave  it,  have  been  worth  still  more  than  their 
thousands  of  silver  and  gold.  From  the  day  of  that 
visit  to  the  day  of  her  death,  that  man's  house  was 
Miss  Lyon's  home  in  Boston.  Not  long  after  her  re- 
moval, he  also  obeyed  the  summons  to  the  Saviour's 
presence,  and  entered  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord. 

April  8th,  she  writes  to  Miss  Grant,  "  I  have  been 
thinking  whether  the  buildings  might  not  be  com- 
menced this  summer,  laying  out  ten  or  twelve  thou- 
sand dollars  on  such  a  plan  that  they  can  be  extended 
after  more  funds  are  obtained.  Considering  the  field 
yet  to  be  gone  over,  would  it  not  do  to  presume  on  a 
few  thousand  dollars?  Would  it  not  do,  by  some 
sacrifice,  to  turn  what  is  subscribed  to  be  paid  in  fu- 
ture years  into  ready  money  ?  I  fear  to  let  the  pres- 
ent season  pass  away  without  having  any  thing  done 
on  the  buildings,  lest  friends  may  be  discouraged,  and 
enemies  take  occasion  to  injure  the  cause.  I  wish 
Messrs.  Heard  and  Choate  would  look  at  this  subject, 
and  come  and  attend  the  meeting  next  Wednesday. 

"  It  seems  to  me  also  desirable,  that  every  impor- 
tant branch  of  the  business  should  be  committed  to  a 
small  executive  committee,  who  are  qualified  to  do  the 
definite  things  needed,  and  willing  to  toork  for  this 
cause.  The  business  to  which  I  refer  is  finding  and 
appointing  agents,  devising  ways  and  means  of  raising 
funds,  making  arrangements  towards  building,  making 
contracts,  obtaining  plans,  etc." 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  committee  the  contem- 


FRIENDS  ENLISTED.  169 

plated  institution  receiveH  the  name  of  the  "  Mount 
Holyoke  Female  Seminary." 

In  the  fall  of  1834,  while  Dr.  Packard  still  felt  a 
father's  zeal  and  interest  in  the  enterprise,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  enlisting  in  its  behalf  Rev.  Roswell  Hawks 
of  Cummington,  who  about  the  first  of  November  first 
met  Miss  Lyon  at  her  mother's  in  Ashfield,  reported 
to  her  a  considerable  amount  of  funds  collected,  and 
they  together  visited  Dr.  Packard,  uniting  their  coun- 
sels with  his  for  the  object  so  dear  to  her  heart.  Mr. 
Hawks  was  then  a  young  man,  and  happily  settled ; 
but  he  obtained  leave  of  absence  from  his  people,  pro- 
viding them  a  supply  for  the  pulpit,  and  engaged  for 
a  few  months  in  an  agency  for  the  seminary.  Under 
about  the  same  date  as  the  last  extract,  she  says, "  I  am 
very  well  satisfied  with  Mr.  Hawks.  The  query  be- 
gins to  arise  in  my  mind,  whether  early  efforts  should 
not  be  made  to  secure  his  services  for  the  summer. 
This  matter  ought  to  receive  the  immediate  attention 
of  the  committee."  He  was  continued  in  his  agency. 
At  that  crisis,  when  it  required  a  clear  eye  and  a 
strong  heart  to*  embark  in  the  cause,  Mr.  Hawks  gave 
himself  sincerely  to  its  advancement.  Miss  Lyon  some- 
times accompanied  him  in  his  pilgrimages,  aiding  his 
arguments  with  her  presence  and  conversation.  From 
the  day  in  which  they  met  at  Ashfield  to  that  of  her 
death,  no  person  was  a  more  patient  listener  to  her 
many  and  varied  plans,  nor  a  more  sincere  coworker 
with  her  in  giving  these  plans  life  and  form. 

To  Miss  Caldwell,  then  at  Norton,  she  writes, 

"  Give  a  large  share  of  love  to  Miss  A from  me. 

I  want  to  see  her,  to  talk  with  her  about  the  good 

M«ry  Lyon.  8 


110  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON 

which  she  can  do  by  being  a  member  of  the  school 
i)iG  first  year.  Ought  we  not  to  ascertain  what  young 
ladies  of  our  acquaintance,  who  are  advanced  in  their 
education,  intend  at  some  time  to  become  members  of 
the  institution,  and  lay  before  them  the  good  that  they 
would  do  by  joining  the  school  the  very  first  year?" 

To  her  Mother  and  Sister. 

"Northampton,  July  23, 1835. 

"I  cannot  undertake  to  tell  you  where  I  have  been, 
and  what  I  have  been  doing,  since  I  last  saw  you.  I 
seem  to  be  ever  busy,  and  yet  I  accomplish  nothing.  I 
scarcely  know  one  week  where  I  shall  bo  the  next.  In 
this  way  I  expect  to  live,  at  least  until  one  year  from 
next  spring,  the  earliest  possible  time  that  our  new  in- 
stitution can  open.  And  then  I  may  only  make  a  change 
for  a  situation  of  overwhelming  cares.  But  I  have  no 
doubt  that  I  am  following  the  leadings  of  Providence. 
His  dealings  towards  this  new  enterprise  have  been 
such  as  should  lead  me  to  trust  wholly  in  the  Lord. 
Every  token  of  success  has  been  rather  strongly  mark- 
ed by  his  hand ;  and  every  trial  and  discouragement 
have  been  such,  that  when  good  combs  we  feel  con- 
strained to  say, '  This  is  the  work  of  the  Lord.' 

"  In  looking  back,  I  feel  that,  whatever  may  be  the 
result,  I  can  never  regret  that  these  things  were  not 
directed  differently.  It  seems  to  me  more  and  moro 
that  this  institution,  and  other  similar  ones,  are  a 
necessary  part  of  the  great  system  of  means  now  in 
operation  for  the  conversion  of  the  world.  When  I 
look  abroad  and  see  how  much  abounds  that  is  con- 
trary to  the  spirit  of  tlie  gospel,  I  sometimes  feel  it  to 
be  a  precious  privilege  to  pray, '  Thy  kingdom  come ; 


FRIENDS  ENLISTED.  171 

thy  -will  be  done  on  earth,  as  it  is  done  in  heaven.' 
Whatever  we  are  permitted  to  do  in  accordance  with 
these  desires,  is  a  precious  privilege.  The  feeble 
efforts  which  I  am  allowed  to  put  forth  in  cooperating 
with  others  in  laying  the  foundation  of  this  new  sem- 
inary, will  probably  do  more  for  the  cause  of  Christ 
after  I  am  laid  in  my  grave,  than  all  I  may  have  done 
in  my  life  before.  Do  not  cease  to  pray  for  this  sem- 
inary, that  in  every  succeeding  age  it  may  be  most 
sacredly  the  Lord's ;  and  that  no  wicked  hand  may 
ever  be  allowed  to  turn  it  aside  from  its  consecration 
to  the  Redeemer." 

To  Miss  Grant. 

"  NOBTHAMPTON,  Julj  24,  1835. 

"  How  vain  would  it  be  for  us  to  hope  by  our  pres- 
ent efforts  to  make  our  situation  more  comfortable  or 
quiet.  "We  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  the 
more  we  seek  to  draw  the  public  to  aid  us  in  doing 
good,  the  more  perplexing  will  be  o6r  cares  and  la- 
bors. But  then  we  shall  not  shrink  from  this,  if  we 
can  thus  lay  a  foundation  for  our  successors  to  labor 
abundantly  for  the  cause  of  Christ." 

To  her  Sister. 

"  Norton,  Oct  24, 1835. 
"  My  dear  Sister — You  will  doubtless  be  glad  to 
know  something  about  the  Mount  Holyoke  Seminary. 
The  work  goes  on  slowly.  I  hope  they  will  be  able 
to  commence  building  next  spring.  We  have  much 
to  try  our  faith,  and  much  to  excite  our  hopes.  I  love 
to  look  at  the  hand  of  Providence  as  connected  with 
this  enterprise.  With  how  much  wisdom  and  good- 
ness are  trials  and  blessings  mingled  together  in  our 


172  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

cup.  The  work  of  endeavoring  to  found  and  build 
up  this  seminary,  is  one  which  I  trust  the  Lord  will 
own  and  bless.  But  I  do  not  expect  that  it  will  be 
carried  forward  as  on  flowery  beds  of  ease.  This  I 
have  never  asked.  I  only  ask  that  it  may  receive  the 
fimile  of  Providence  in  that  way  which  shall  best  pro- 
mote the  interests  of  the  great  cause  to  which  it  is 
consecrated.  I  hope  that  in  your  prayers  you  will 
commend  this  enterprise  to  God." 

To  Miss  Grant. 

"Amherst,  Dec.  23,  1835. 

"My  very  dear  Sister — It  is  sweet  to  review 
our  past  years,  the  time  of  our  first  acquaintance,  the 
commencement  of  our  connection,  and  the  many  years 
we  spent  so  delightfully  together,  and  in  some  degree, 
as  I  hope,  profitably  to  the  best  of  causes.  When  I 
look  back  and  compare  my  own  views  and  feelings 
fifteen  years  ago,  with  what  they  are  now,  I  am  con- 
strained to  believe  there  has  been  a  very  great 
change.  Comparatively  it  does  seem  to  me  now  a 
great  privilege  to  live  and  labor  for  the  cause  of 
Christ  in  any  place,  and  under  any  circumstances, 
where  He  may  direct ;  and  if  possible,  a  still  greater 
privilege  to  lead  others  to  attempt  and  to  do  more 
than  I  can  ever  myself  accomplish.  It  seems  to  me 
uniformly  as  if  my  strength  was  mostly  spent,  and 
my  years,  a  great  proportion  of  them,  gone.  But  if  I 
may  be  permitted  to  do  something  more,  it  will  be 
indeed  a  great  privilege.  In  this  respect,  life  seems 
to  me  a  greater  and  greater  blessing. 

"  I  anticipate  trials  in  future,  such  as  I  have  never 
yet  known.    I  expect  them,  from  indications  of  Prov- 


FRIENDS  ENLISTED.  173 

idence  already  manifested  towards  the  enterprise  in 
which  I  am  engaged.  Sometimes  my  heart  and  spirits 
seem  to  sink  under  the  prospect,  and  I  am  almost 
ready  to  exclaim,  '  When  will  the  work  of  my.  feeble 
hands  be  done,  that  I  may  go  home  ?'  But  through 
the  mercy  of  God,  these  seasons  do  not  often  occur, 
and  do  not  continue  long.  Generally  I  feel  that  the 
dark,  portentous  cloud  which  hangs  over  the  future, ' 
is  under  the  direction  of  Him  who  led  his  chosen  peo- 
ple by  a  pillar  of  cloud  and  of  fire.  I  do  hope  that 
in  some  way  the  remainder  of  my  life  may  be  instru- 
mental of  more  good  than  my  past  life  has  been, 
though  it  may  be  in  a  manner  very  different  from 
what  I  anticipate.  The  years  which  I  have  had  the 
privilege  of  spending  with  you,  have  done  more  to  fit 
me  to  enjoy  so  great  a  blessing  than  almost  all  other 
circumstances.  Such  a  view  gives  a  peculiar  sweet- 
ness to  the  remembrance." 

To  Miss  Caldwell. 

"January  11,  1836. 

"  In  Conway  I  visited  the  family  of  Mr.  A ,  who 

probably,  during  the  past  twenty  years,  has  given 
more  to  benevolent  objects,  in  proportion  to  his  prop- 
erty and  family,  than  any  other  man  in  New  Eng- 
land. I  was  delighted  with  their  godly  simplicity, 
their  systematic  mode  of  benevolent  action,  and  their 
well-balanced  views  of  things." 

In  Conway  Miss  Lyon  visited  two  maiden  sisters, 

the  Misses  M ,  who  were  living  comfortably  on 

some  property  left  them  by  an  honored  brother.  Out 
of  their  moderate  means,  they  subscribed  one  hundred 
dollars  each  to  the  object.    They  soon  after  lost  their 


1T4  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

property ;  but  rather  than  be  denied  "the  luxury  of 
helping  the  good  work,  they  labored  with  their  own 
hands,  and  earned  the  money  to  meet  their  subscrip- 
tion as  it  became  due. 

"Well  do  I  remember,"  says  a  Holyoke  pupil, 
"  standing  with  Miss  Lyon  by  her  open  drawer,  when 
she  took  up  several  silver  dollars  bearing  the  traces 
of  fire.  Her  eye  kindled  as  she  said,  'These  were 
among  the  first  contributions  to  our  seminary.  They 
were  given  by  two  sisters  in  Conway,  whose  house 
was  burned  after  they  had  subscribed  one  hundred 
dollars  each.  We  of  course  felt  that  they  were  re- 
leased from  their  obligation,  but  they  paid  the  whole, 
working  with  their  own  hands  to  earn  the  money. 
These  dollars  gathered  from  the  smoking  embers 
were  a  part  of  their  donation.  They  seemed  so  pre- 
cious that  I  replaced  them  with  my  own  money,  and 
kept  them  as  a  memento  of  their  faithfulness,  and  of 
God's  goodness  to  this  seminary.'"  Their  married 
sister  also  contributed  one  hundred  dollars.  With 
such  money  was  the  institution  built.  With  the  pray- 
ers of  these  and  kindred  spirits  was  every  stone  and 
every  brick  consecrated  to  the  Lord. 

The  act  of  incorporation  passed  both  houses  of 
the  state  legislature,  February  10,  1836,  and  was 
signed  by  the  governor  the  next  day.  The  instru- 
ment named  as  trustees,  Messrs.  William  Bowdoin, 
John  Todd,  Joseph  D.  Condit,  David  Choate,  and 
Samuel  Williston,  and  empowered  them  to  hold  real 
and  personal  estate  not  exceeding  in  value  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars,  to  be  devoted  exclusively  to 
purposes  of  education. 


FRIENDS  ENLISTED.  115 

On  March  2,  the  trustees  met  at  South  Hadley. 
They  accepted  the  act  of  incorporation,  added  Rev. 
William  Tyler  and  Rev.  Roswell  Hawks  to  the  board, 
elected  officers  of  the  board,  appointed  an  executive 
committee  from  their  number,  and  took  measures  for 
obtaining  plans  and  estimates  for  carrying  forward 
the  contemplated  operations.  On  the  13th  of  the  fol- 
lowing month,  the  trustees  met  again  in  South  Had- 
ley. In  reference  to  the  meeting  of  the  13th  of  April, 
Miss  Lyon  writes  from  Boston,  April  25th  : 

"  The  late  meeting  of  the  trustees  at  South  Had- 
ley was  as  favorable  as  could  be  expected.  A  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  attend  to  the  preparations 
for  building,  and  more  general  responsibility  was  com- 
mitted to  Mr.  Hawks  than  heretofore.  Mr.  Joseph 
Avery  of  Conway  was  added  to  the  trustees.  At 
an  adjourned  meeting  at  Northampton,  on  the  19th, 
Deacon  Andrew  W.  Porter  of  Monson  was  appoint- 
ed a  trustee.  We  have  had  our  eye  on  him  for 
some  time.  He  has  had  more  experience  in  super- 
intending workmen  and  in  putting  up  buildings  than 
any  one  on  our  board.  Benevolent,  disinterested, 
and  of  sound  judgment,  he  is  also  one  of  the  fii'st  of 
accountants.  He  is  an  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Tyler, 
and  at  South  Hadley,  Mr.  Tyler,  with  Mr.  Hawks 
and  myself,  agreed  to  meet  at  Monson  the  next  day. 
When  we  reached  Monson,  the  gentleman  we  went  to 
see  was  absent,  not  to  return  till  Saturday  night,  and 
on  this  account  I  did  not  leave  Monson  till  the  fol- 
lowing Tuesday.  I  was  much  interested  in  my  visit 
there.  Both  Mr.  P — ■ —  and  his  wife  can  look  at  our 
cause. 


116  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

"  I  have  been  endeavoring  to  ascertain  whether  we 
can  depend  on  Mr.  and  Mrs.  SafiFord's  firm  support, 
whenever  it  is  desirable  to  bring  our  cause  up  licre. 
The  Lord  is,  I  believe,  inclining  their  hearts  in  our 
favor." 

Messrs.  Avery,  Porter,  and  Safford,  the  three  gen- 
tlemen to  whom  Miss  Lyon  above  alludes,  entered 
fully  into  her  plans,  and  were  as  active  in  promoting 
them  as  though  the  seminary  had  been  their  own 
private  property.  The  first  named  gave,  for  several 
years,  much  of  the  surplus  revenue  of  his  rock-bound 
but  productive  farm  to  the  good  work  in  which  she 
was  employed.  Like  Miss  Lyon,  he  could  not  endure 
to  see  a  mill  of  the  sacred  funds  of  the  institution 
spent  for  a  fruitless  purpose.  When,  on  one  occasion, 
a  plan  had  been  purchased  of  an  artist  at  an  artist's 
price,  which,  as  Miss  Lyon  thought,  was  not  available 
for  her  purpose,  the  bill  was  voluntarily  met  from  his 
own  purse,  in  addition  to  his  large  subscription.  It 
was  a  kind  deed,  which  gave  Miss  Lyon  great  satis- 
faction. Her  private  funds  had  suffered  many  drafts, 
and  were  ill  able  at  that  time  to  bear  another. 

Mr.  Porter,  for  several  months,  left  his  own  ex- 
tensive and  lucrative  business  to  the  oversight  of 
others,  and  went  every  Monday  morning  to  South 
Hadley,  and  there,  often  till  the  sunset  of  Saturday, 
gave  his  financial  skill  and  rare  business  abilities  to 
overseeing  the  erection  of  the  seminary  building.  It 
was  in  his  hospitable  mansion  that  she  spent  her  very 
last  season  of  rest,  and  refreshed  her  soul  for  the 
heavenly  employments  on  which  she  was  so  soon  to 
enter. 


FRIENDS  ENLISTED.  iTt 

To  none  is  the  institution  more  indebted  for  pecu- 
niary aid  than  to  the  friends  of  whom  she  said  in  the 
last  letter,  "  The  Lord  is,  I  believe,  inclining  their 
hearts  in  our  favor."  But  for  the  cooperation  of 
these  three  men,  we  cannot  see  how  the  enterprise 
could  have  gone  forward.  Who  can  doubt  that  the 
Lord  helped  her  to  iind  them,  and  to  set  her  object 
before  them,  and  inclined  their  hearts  and  minds  to 
receive  and  understand  the  complicated  plans  of  a 
woman  so  unlike  all  other  women  they  had  ever  met? 
It  seemed  to  herself  a  providential  interposition  that, 
at  a  crisis  when  many  wise  men  even  in  the  church 
could  not  comprehend  her  plans,  and  assist  in  their 
execution,  such  men  as  these  lent  her  their  efficient 
aid. 


8* 


Its  LIFE  OF  MARY  LTON. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   EEECTION  AND  FURNISHING  OF  THE  EDIFICE, 

The  site  for  the  seminary  had  been  selected  at 
a  meeting  of  the  trustees,  held  May  19,  1836.  The 
comer-stone  was  laid  October  3,  1836.  On  the  7th, 
Miss  Lyon  writes  from  South  Hadley  to  Miss  Cald- 
well, "  "We  had  a  fine  day  for  the  laying  of  the  corner- 
//Btone.  I  should  have  enjoyed  your  being  present. 
y  It  was  a  day  of  deep  interest.  The  associations  were 
very  tender.  That  is  an  affecting  spot  to  me.  The 
stones  and  brick  and  mortar  speak  a  language  which 
vibrates  through  my  very  soul.  How  much  thought 
and  how  much  feeling  have  I  had  on  this  general  sub- 
ject in  years  that  are  past.  And  I  have  indeed  lived 
to  see  the  time  when  a  body  of  gentlemen  have  ven- 
tured to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  an  edifice  which  will 
cost  about  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  and  will  be  an 
institution  for  the  education  of  females.  Surely  the 
Lord  hath  remembered  our  low  estate.  This  will  be 
an  era  in  female  education.  The  work  will  not  stop 
with  this  institution.  The  enterprise  may  have  to 
struggle  through  embarrassments  for  years,  but  its 
influence  will  be  felt." 

At  their  meeting  in  South  Hadley,  October  3,  the 
trustees  added  to  their  number  Rev.  Dr.  Heman 
Humphrey  and  Professor  Edward  Hitchcock,  and  at 
a  meeting  soon  after,  Dea.  Daniel  Safibrd. 

In  the  fall  of  1836,  the  building  having  been  com- 


ERECTION  OF  THE  EDIFICE.  119 

menced,  Miss  Lyon  undertook  the  business  of  obtain- 
ing funds  and  articles  for  furnishing  the  house.  In 
addition  to  crockery  and  cutlery  for  about  one  hun- 
dred persons,  in  addition  to  parlor  furniture  and 
kitchen  utensils,  forty  scholars'  rooms  were  to  be 
provided  with  bedsteads,  beds,  bedding,  tables,  wash- 
stands,  chairs,  and  mirrors. 

In  a  letter  which  she  sent  to  many  ladies,  she 
spreads  before  them  the  merits  and  claims  of  the  en- 
terprise as  follows : 

"  The  enterprise  of  founding  this  institution  was 
commenced  about  two  years  ago.  The  work  has  since 
been  going  forward  slowly.  The  first  edifice  is  now 
erecting.  It  is  ninety-four  feet  by  fifty,  and  of  four 
stories,  besides  the  basement.  It  will  furnish  good 
public  accommodations  for  the  school  and  the  family, 
private  chambers  for  the  teachers,  and  for  eighty 
young  ladies.  Additions  are  to  be  made  hereafter, 
as  the  liberality  of  the  Christian  public  shall  furnish 
the  means.  If  there  is  no  delay  on  account  of  funds, 
this  first  building  can  be  finished,  and  a  school  of 
eighty  scholars  commenced,  the  latter  part  of  next 
summer. 

"  The  time  has  now  come  when  we  must  make  our 
arrangements  for  furniture.  For  this  we  must  depend 
principally  on  ladies.  We  have  no  doubt  but  the 
call  will  be  promptly  met.  In  all  our  progress,  ladies 
have  been  prompt  to  do  all  that  we  have  asked.  The 
first  contribution  in  behalf  of  this  object  was  made  by 
them.  The  institution  had  then  assumed  no  name, 
nor  place,  nor  legal  standing.  The  whole  enterprise 
was  less  in  appearance  than  a  man's  hand,  when  a  few 


180  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

ladies  came  forward,  and  generously  raised  one  thou- 
sand dollars  to  meet  incidental  expenses.  This  was 
a  noble  beginning. 

"  Though  I  have  no  doubt  that  all  the  furniture 
can  be  easily  obtained  without  the  interposition  of 
an  agent,  yet  some  regular  plan  will  be  necessary. 
We  propose  the  plan  of  distinct  towns  or  parishes 
furnishing  one  chamber  each,  by  a  united  contribu- 
tion. The  other  parts  of  the  furniture  will,  we  hope, 
be  promptly  supplied  by  donations  from  individuals. 
Some  towns  are  now  ready  to  commence  the  work  of 
furnishing  a  chamber,  and  the  teachers  and  pupils  of 
one  school,  under  the  care  of  a  lady  from  the  Ipswich 
Female  Seminary,  have  already  given  a  donation  of 
one  hundred  and  thirty  dollars,  to  be  expended  in 
furnishing  a  parlor.  Will  not  other  schools  follow 
this  example,  and  especially  those  instructed  by  ladies 
from  the  Ipswich  seminary,  on  whose  influence  over 
the  community  this  enterprise  has  been  able  to  rely 
with  so  much  confidence  ?  Will  not  many  ladies  feel 
it  to  be  a  privilege  to  make  a  large  donation  for  some 
specific  articles  of  furniture  ? 

"But  the  business  of  furnishing  chambers  needs 
immediate  attention.  The  sum  necessary  for  one 
chamber  will  be  from  fifty  to  sixty  dollars ;  fifty  dol- 
lars will  furnish  the  essential  articles,  though  some 
other  conveniences  would  be  very  desirable,  and 
might  be  procured  for  a  few  dollars  more.  This  will 
be  left  optional  with  the  donors.  Let  one  efficient 
lady,  in  almost  any  place,  either  alone  or  with  one  or 
two  to  aid  her,  commence  the  work  with  determina- 
tion, and  it  will  be  done  ;  while,  in  the  most  flourish- 


ERECTION  OF  THE  EDIFICE.  181 

ing  town,  it  -would  not  be  accomplished  unless  some 
one  lady  should  undertake  the  work  as  her  own  busi- 
ness. I  should  advise  that  the  contributions  should 
be  obtained  from  a  great  number  of  ladies.  It  may 
be  best  to  request,  that  the  largest  contribution  should 
not  exceed  five  dollars.  Individuals  who  are  able  to 
do  more  might  make  a  donation  in  addition,  to  be 
appropriated  in  some  other  way.  Perhaps  in  some 
^cases  the  bedding  and  some  money  might  be  ad- 
vanced by  a  young  ladies'  sewing  society,  and  the 
remainder  raised  by  a  general  contribution  from 
ladi^  of  all  ages.  The  plan  of  operation  must,  how- 
ever, V/ary  according  to  circumstances. 

"  And  now,  dear  madam,  would  not  the  ladies  in 
your  place  consider  it  a  privilege  to  furnish  one  of 
these  chambers  ?  Would  you  not  consider  it  a  privi- 
lege so  to  bring  the  subject  before  them,  that  they 
will  do  it  with  promptness  ? 

"  Among  the  means  essential  to  the  safety  of  the 
nation,  many  are  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  pre- 
paring and  employing  a  multitude  of  benevolent,  self- 
denying  female  teachers.  Many  of  the  most  candid 
and  discriminating,  who  have  the  advantage  of  obser- 
vation on  this  subject,  are  convinced  that  all-  other 
means  without  this  will  be  insufficient.  But  what  can 
be  done?  Most  of  the  calls  which  come  to  New 
England,  and  are  multiplying  every  year,  must  be 
returned  unanswered.  The  seminary  at  Ipswich, 
whose  teachers  are  found  in  every  part  of  our  country, 
and  whose  influence  has  done  so  much  to  prepare  the 
way  for  this  enterprise,  is  compelled  even  now  to 
return  a  negative  reply  to  a  multitude  of  calls  every 


^ 


182  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

year.  And  the  necessities  of  the  country  are  yet 
scarcely  beginning  to  be  known. 

"After  these  remarks,  you  would  expect  that  I 
should  feel  deeply  interested  in  the  success  of  Mount 
Holyoke  Female  Seminary.  Had  I  a  thousand  lives, 
I  could  sacrifice  them  all  in  suJBFering  and  hardship 
for  its  sake.  Did  I  possess  the  greatest  fortune,  I 
could  readily  relinquish  it  all,  and  become  poor,  and 
more  than  poor,  if  its  prosperity  should  demand  it. 
Its  grand  object  is  to  furnish  the  greatest  possible 
number  of  female  teachers,  of  high  literary  qualifica- 
tions, and  of  benevolent,  self-denying  zeal.  The  in- 
stitution is  to  be  only  for  an  older  class  of  young 
ladies,  and  every  scholar  is  to  board  in  the  establish- 
ment. The  general  course  of  study,  and  the  general 
character  of  the  instruction,  are  to  be  like  those  at 
Ipswich.  The  institution  is  to  be  permanent,  continu- 
ing onward  in  its  operations  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration. In  the  thousands  of  teachers  which  it  will 
send  forth,  it  will  doubtless  be  an  instrument  of  good, 
far  beyond  the  present  grasp  of  my  feeble  compre- 
hension. 

"  But  this  is  not  all.  This  experiment  has  an  impor- 
tant bearing  on  the  great  subject  of  adopting  suitable 
means  for  supplying  our  country  with  well-qualified 
female  teachers,  and  it  is  testing  the  great  question 
of  duty  on  this  subject.  This  constitutes  its  chief 
importance.  It  is  like  the  signing  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence ;  the  battles  were  still  to  be  fought, 
but  the  question  of  independence  was  then  settled. 
It  is  like  fitting  out  our  first  little  band  of  missiona- 
ries.   The  great  work  of  evangelizing  a  world  was 


^      ERECTION  OF  THE  EDIFICE.  183 

still  before  the  American  churches ;  but  thfe  grand 
question  of  duty,  and  the  mode  of  meeting  duty,  were 
then  settled,  never  again  to  be  seriously  doubted. 
Let  this  enterprise  be  carried  through  by  the  liberal- 
ity of  the  Christian  community,  and  it  will  no  longer 
be  doubted  whether  the  work  of  supplying  our  coun- 
try with  well-qualified  female  teachers  shall  be  al- 
lowed a  standing  among  the  benevolent  operations 
of  the  day.  The  work  will  still  be  before  us,  but  the 
principle  on  which  it  is  to  be  accomplished  will  be 
settled.  Another  stone  in  the  foundation  of  our  great 
system  of  benevolent  operations,  which  are  destined, 
in  the  hand  of  God,  to  convert  the  world,  will  then 
be  laid. 

"  The  work  of  bringing  this  institution  into  oper- 
ation has  been  longer  than  was  anticipated.  But  the 
progress  of  the  enterprise  in  taking  an  acknowledged 
standing  among  the  benevolent  operations  of  the  day, 
has  exceeded  the  expectations  of  its  warmest  friends. 
I  doubt  whether  any  benevolent  object,  not  excepting 
even  the  missionary  cause,  has  ever,  within  two  years 
from  its  commencement,  made  a  greater  advance  in 
gaining  access  to  the  understanding  and  hearts  of  the 
people.  Many  have  rejoiced  that  so  noble  a  design 
has  been  formed  in  the  heart  of  New  England.  Many 
hearts  have  been  filled  with  hope,  as  they  have  beheld 
this  enterprise  go  forward  in  obedience  to  the  great 
command,  '  Love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.' 

"And  now,  dear  madam,  will  you  allow  me  to 
appeal  to  your  benevolence  in  behalf  of  this  cause  ? 
There  may  be  some  gentlemen,  in  the  circle  of  your 
friends,  whose  hearts  the  Lord  will  incline  to  favor 


184  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

this  object,  and  whose  hands  the  Lord  will  open  in  its 
behalf.  If  so,  I  do  most  earnestly  desire  that  they 
may  speedily  do  that  which  has  been  put  into  their 
hearts.  There  may  be  some  ladies  in  your  circle  of 
acquaintance,  who  will  feel  it  to  be  a  privilege  to 
make  an  uncommon  sacrifice  for  the  benefit  of  this 
cause,  and  make  out  in  its  behalf  a  generous  donation, 
either  to  the  principal  fund,  or  to  supply  some  of  the 
more  expensive  articles  of  furniture.  But  the  ques- 
tion of  furnishing  a  chamber  is  one  to  which  a  direct 
reply  is  particularly  requested.  It  is  important  that 
the  reply  should  be  decisive,  and  as  early  as  conven- 
ient, so  that  in  case  the  answer  should  be  negative, 
which,  however,  I  do  not  expect,  a  substitute  may  bo 
found." 

In  this  circular  letter.  Miss  Lyon  reaflBrms  what 
the  active  friends  of  the  new  seminary  everywhere 
pleaded ;  that  they  intended  to  stereotype  the  thorough 
study  and  high  tone  of  moral  and  religious  character 
of  the  Ipswich  seminary,  and  afford  the  same  advan- 
tages at  less  expense.  It  was  the  known  character, 
and  the  wide  and  substantial  usefulness  of  the  Ipswich 
school,  and  Miss  Lyon's  identity  with  it,  that  gave  to 
those  pleas  much  of  their  power  and  success.  As 
preliminary  to  the  enterprise,  she  engaged  its  first 
teachers  from  the  graduates  of  Ipswich,  and  also, 
with  the  concurrence  of  Miss  Grant,  by  appeals  to 
tlie  collected  school,  and  by  efforts  with  individual 
scholars,  drew  from  it  a  class  of  valuable  pupils  on 
whom  she  could  rely  to  give  character  and  tone  to 
the  new  school.    The  motives  she  presented  to  induce 


ERECTION  OF  THE  EDIFICE.  185 

them  to  change  their  literary  home  were,  that  she 
needed  their  help,  that  their  influence  would  be  worth 
more  in  the  new  institution,  and  that,  if  they  would  go 
with  her,  they  might  share  in  the  solemn  responsibility 
and  in  the  glorious  reward  of  helping  to  found  the  Hol- 
yokc  seminary,  an  institution  that  would  live  and  do 
good  long  after  they  should  rest  from  their  labors. 

An  effort  which  had  long  been  contemplated,  was 
made  in  Boston  in  March,  1837.  Its  results  are 
chronicled  by  Miss  Lyon,  in  a  letter  to  Miss  Grant, 
under  date  of  March  13  :  "  Thursday  evening,  though 
it  was  so  rainy,  we  had  a  very  interesting  little  meet- 
ing in  Deacon  Safiford's  parlor.  At  the  close  of  the 
meeting,  a  subscription  was  taken  up  of  a  little  more 
than  three  thousand  dollars,  which  has  since  been 
increased  to  four  thousand.  The  largest  subscrip- 
tions were,  one  of  one  thousand  dollars  from  Deacon 
SafiFord,  two  of  five  hundred  dollars  each,  and  four 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  each,  from  other 
individuals." 

On  the  29th  of  May,  Miss  Lyon  writes  to  Miss 
Cutter,  a  pupil  in  the  seminary  at  Ipswich :  "  I  very 
much  want  to  see  you  and  others  whom  I  place  among 
the  particular  friends  of  Mount  Holyoke  Female  Sem- 
inary. We  are  now  in  a  very  great  strait  about 
olrtaining  furniture,  etc.  If  I  should  visit  you,  could 
the  whole  school  devote  from  one  to  two  hours  to  the 
subject  ?  I  do  not  expect  that  they  will  contrioute 
any  thing  to  this  object  while  they  are  members  of 
the  school,  but  only  use  their  influence  in  its  behalf 
when  they  go  to  their  various  homes. 

"  I  would  by  all  means  have  the  teachers  choose 


186  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

their  object  of  benevolence,  present  its  claims  to  the 
scholars,  and  lead  them  to  give  abundantly  and  cheer- 
fully ;  but  I  do  more  and  more  feel  it  to  be  important 
that  young  ladies  engaged  in  study,  and  spending 
freely  on  themselves  for  board  and  tuition,  should 
give  liberally  to  the  treasury  of  the  Lord.  This  is 
essential  to  their  cultivating  right  principles,  to  their 
forming  right  habits.  Are  not  young  ladies,  as  well 
as  young  men,  while  engaged  in  study,  in  danger  of 
excusing  themselves  from  contributing  liberally,  be- 
cause they  are  spending  their  money  to  prepare  them- 
selves for  usefulness  ?  By  fortifying  themselves  with 
this  excuse  through  their  whole  course  of  education, 
may  they  not  almost  form  the  habit  of  feeling  that 
every  thing  of  large  amount  that  is  to  be  cast  into 
the  treasury  of  the  Lord  by  their  own  hands,  must 
first  pass  through  the  channel  of  self,  to  fit  it  for  the 
Master's  service?  Ought  not  young  ladies,  in  a 
course  of  education,  carefully  to  economize  in  the 
least  expenditures,  lest  something  which  ought  to  be 
put  into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord  should  flow  into 
some  other  channel  ?  I  hope  the  teachers  in  Ipswich 
will  be  faithful  on  this  subject." 

In  the  midst  of  all  her  cares  and  labors,  she  yet 
found  time  and  heart  for  the  personal  concerns  of  her 
friends.  We  give  an  extract  from  a  letter  to  one  who 
had  been  her  pupil  at  Ipswich,  and  who  was  soon  to 
become  her  pupil  at  South  Hadley. 

To  Hilt  Sarah  Brigham. 

"  Norton,  July  24, 1837. 
"  I  have  sympathized  with  you  in  your  late  aflflic- 
tions.    I  need  not  tell  you  that  I  feel  deeply  inter- 


ERECTION  OF  THE  EDIFICE.  181 

ested  in  all  that  relates  to  yourself  and  friends,  and 
that  my  interest  in  your  behalf  is  now  more  deeply 
enlisted  than  ever.  How  sweet,  though  painful,  must 
it  be  to  think  of  your  dear  mother.  Tou  do  not  dwell 
on  her  image,  which  is  ever  before  you,  with  painful 
emotions  and  anxious  doubt  where  she  now  is,  and 
what  is  now  her  condition,  and  what  her  present  em- 
ployments. You  can  rest  quietly  in  the  belief  that 
she  is  now  with  God,  beyond  all  dangers  and  all 
troubles.  When  you  first  awake  in  the  morning,  do 
you  not  think  of  her  for  a  moment  as  still  alive  ?  But 
the  next  moment  the  painful  reality  rushes  upon  you 
that  she  is  indeed  no  more — that  she  has  gone,  for 
ever  gone,  and  you  are  all  motherless.  But  the  pain- 
ful truth  scarcely  finds  its  way  into  your  wounded 
heart,  when  your  soul  is  filled  with  the  sweet  consola- 
tion that  she  is  happy,  for  ever  happy — that  she  does 
not  lie  distressed  on  that  painful  couch,  where  you 
watched  her  by  day  and  by  night.  She  has  gone  to 
rest,  eternal  rest.  How  important  that  such  afilic- 
tions  should  lead  us  to  do  with  our  might  what  our 
hands  find  to  do.  What  have  we  to  do  with  this 
world,  except  as  a  place  to  prepare  for  eternity  our- 
Belves,  and  to  seek  the  same  preparation  in  behalf  of 
others  ?" 

To  her  Mother. 
"  South  Hadley,  Sept.  6,  1837. 
"My  dear  Mother — I  want  you  should  let  me 
hear  from  you  often.  Letters  sent  to  this  place  will 
find  me  very  soon  ;  indeed,  I  must  be  here  now  most 
of  the  time.  I  have  so  much  letter  writing  to  do,  that 
I  seem  not  to  have  time  for  much  else.    And  yet  I 


188  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

have  five  times  as  mucli  as  I  can  do  which  I  wish  to 
do.  But  I  must  do  what  I  can,  and  let  the  rest  go 
undone.  There  is  scarcely  a  mail  which  does  not 
bring  me  a  letter;  yesterday's  brought  five.  Most 
of  them  require  an  answer,  and  many  of  them  will 
require  two  or  three  before  I  get  through  with  them. 
Among  all  these  letters,  I  should  now  and  then  like 
to  receive  one  from  my  own  dear  mother.  As  for 
myself,  my  head  is  filled  with  such  a  variety,  that  I 
can  write  nothing  except  it  is  on  business.  Our 
building  is  going  on  finely.  The  seal  to  every  thing 
about  it  must  soon  be  fixed.  My  head  is  full  of  closets, 
shelves,  cupboards,  doors,  sinks,  tables,  etc.  You  will 
think  this  is  new  work  for  me,  and  indeed  it  is. 

"  Give  my  love  to  father.  I  hope  he  will  have 
the  presence  of  God,  and  be  prepared  for  a  long  and 
happy  eternity,  where  he  will  feel  no  more  of  his 
infirmities,  and  where  all  can  hear  " — Mr.  Taylor  was 
deaf — "  distinctly  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb." 

This  letter  was  written  precisely  three  years  after 
the  meeting  in  Miss  Lyon's  parlor  at  Ipswich,  where 
the  first  resolves  were  passed  to  attempt  to  found  a 
female  seminary  of  a  high  order. 

These  years,  as  Miss  Lyon's  letters  abundantly 
show,  had  been  with  her  years  of  much  and  increasing 
toil.  For  the  cause  to  which  she  had  givdn  her  life 
she  dared  do  any  thing  that  became  a  woman,  and 
any  thing  which  she  deemed  not  wrong  in  the  sight 
of  God,  that  appeared  to  have  any  tendency  to  fur- 
ther her  object.  She  went  hither  and  thither,  by  pub- 
lic conveyances,  with  Mr.  Hawks,  or  any  other  friend 
of  the  enterprise.    Travelling  the  road  from  Boston 


ERECTION  OF  THE  EDIFICE.  189 

to  the  Connecticut  often,  she  could  scarce  ride  any 
ten  miles  of  the  route  without  being  recognized  by 
some  fellow-traveller  whose  cordial  salutation  would 
introduce  her  to  the  company.  All  felt  very  well 
acquainted  with  her,  as  soon  as  they  heard  her  name, 
and  she  would  soon  be  invited  to  detail  the  progress 
of  the  enterprise.  Being  certain  that  the  object  would 
commend  itself  to  the  good  common-sense  and  best 
impulses  of  true  New  Englanders,  she  improved  every 
opportunity  of  unfolding  its  merits  to  any  who  seemed 
capable  of  comprehending  them,  whether  acquaint- 
ances or  strangers.  She  could  make  herself  heard 
easily,  although  the  road  might  be  a  little  uneven, 
and  would  expatiate  on  the  subject  as  freely  as  in  her 
own  parlor.  Many  a  man  can  say,  "  I  saw  Miss  Lyon 
once ;  I  met  her  in  the  stage-coach ;  an  original  char- 
acter, quite."  One  young  lady  certainly  enjoyed  her 
instruction  the  first  year  of  the  school  in  consequence 
of  such  a  casual  interview  of  her  father  with  Miss 
Lyon.  The  father  had  penetration  enough  to  discover 
that  she  understood  female  education,  and  could  so 
train  young  women  in  the  way  they  should  go,  that 
when  they  were  old  they  would  not  depart  from  it. 
Feeling  that  the  cause  for  which  she  toiled  was  the 
Lord's,  she  was  willing  to  make  herself  of  no  reputa- 
tion for  its  advancement.  Certain  that  her  feet  were 
on  a  rock,  she  stood  firm  and  fearless  of  sinking. 
Along  with  unbounded  trust  in  God,  she  had  a  rea 
sonable  and  intelligent  trust  in  herself;  and  both 
combined  to  help  her  cling  tenaciously  to  her  darling 
object.  So  long  as  what  she  did  was  not  sinful,  she 
left  the  consequences  entirely  to  that  Providence 


190  LIFE  OF  MART  LYON. 

whose  agent  she  felt  herself  to  be.  To  any  who 
urged  her  to  rely  less  on  personal  efforts,  and  more 
on  her  pen  and  the  agent,  she  had  but  one  reply  :  "  I 
am  doing  a  great  work ;  I  cannot  come  down." 
When  she  differed  from  any  of  her  coadjutors,  the 
result  generally  proved  that  she  was  in  the  right. 
The  trustees  came,  as  one  of  them  said,  to  be  afraid 
to  oppose  her  plans,  because  they  had  so  much  proof 
that  the  Lord  was  with  her,  and  that  what  she  pro- 
posed to  do  he  had  purposed  to  prosper. 

The  summer  and  fall  of  1837  she  spent  mostly  at 
South  Hadley.  Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Condit  took  her 
into  their  family  as  they  would  a  sister.  How  grate- 
ful was  she  ever  to  them  and  to  the  Providence  that 
thus  inclined  them.  One  of  her  last  deeds  of  grateful 
love  was  devising  a  plan  for  his  widow's  comfort, 
which  she  did  not  live  to  execute. 

She  slept  and  ate  at  Mr.  Condit's,  but  her  days 
were  spent  in  the  unfinished  edifice,  overseeing  work- 
men, and  doing  many  things  which  needed  to  be  done, 
much  as  an  efficient  lady  of  moderate  means  would 
superintend  a  house  she  was  building,  in  the  absence 
of  her  husband.  She  looked  after  the  drawers,  cup- 
boards, closets,  shelves,  latches,  and  hinges,  and  saw 
that  the  church's  funds  were  applied  to  promote  the 
convenience  and  welfare  of  the  church's  daughters. 
When  the  joiner  work  was  done,  she  made  ready  for 
the  mason ;  when  the  masonry  was  done,  she  made 
ready  for  the  painter ;  and  when  the  painter  had 
done,  she  saw  to  the  drying.  The  peculiar  manner 
in  which  the  rooms  were  provided  with  furniture, 
also  rolled  much  care  and  solicitude  upon  her  shoul- 


ERECTION  OF  THE  EDIFICE.  191 

ders.  Altogether  the  autumn  of  1837  was  with  her 
a  season  of  the  most  arduous  labors,  as  well  as  of  the 
most  intense  solicitude. 

It  was  this  finishing  and  furnishing  work  which 
was  before  her,  September  14,  1837,  when  she  ad- 
dressed the  following  lines  to  Miss  Grant.  The 
school  was  to  open  November  8,  about  seven  weeks 
after  the  date  of  the  letter  from  which  the  extract  is 
taken. 

"  I  should  like  to  tell  you  many  things.  When  I 
look  through  to  November  8,  it  seems  like  looking 
down  a  precipice  of  many  hundred  feet,  which  I  must 
descend.  I  can  only  avoid  looking  at  the  bottom, 
and  fix  my  eye  on  the  nearest  stone,  till  I  have  safely 
reached  it.  I  try  to  take  the  best  possible  care  of 
my  health.  I  have  had  more  real  sick  days,  with 
headache  and  the  like,  during  the  last  few  weeks, 
than  usual  ;  but  on  the  whole,  I  am  very  much  sus- 
tained by  a  kind  Providence."  ' 

The  edifice  which  had  so  long  existed  only  in  Miss 
Lyon's  mind  was  at  length,  in  part,  a  reality.  The 
walls  of  a'-portion  of  the  main  building  and  one  wing 
were  erected,  and  rooms  to  accommodate  the  teachers 
and  eighty  pupils  were  completed.  The  edifice,  of 
which  but  a  part  at  that  time  was  built,  consists  of  a 
main  building,  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  feet  by  fifty, 
four  stories  above  the  basement,  and  two  wings.  The 
basement  story  is  divided  into  a  large  domestic  hall 
or  kitchen  furnished  with  every  convenience,  a  dining- 
room  capable  of  accommodating  four  hundred  per- 
sons, and  several  smaller  rooms.    The  first  story  con- 


192  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

tains  a  hall,  sixty  feet  by  fifty,  used  for  devotional 
and  school  exercises,  a  library  and  reading-room,  a 
cabinet  for  specimens  in  natural  liistory,  and  several 
parlors.  The  second  story  is  divided  into  six  recita- 
tion rooms,  and  several  private  rooms  for  pupils  and 
teachers.  The  two  upper  stories,  and  one  wing,  are 
divided  into  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  private  rooms, 
arranged  so  as  to  accommodate  nearly  three  hundred 
persons.  The  other  wing,  completed  since  Miss  Lyon's 
death,  is  occupied  by  private  rooms,  rooms  for  guests, 
a  philosophical  room,  and  a  chemical  room  and  labo- 
ratory. These  were  all  included  in  her  one  great 
plan,  which  has  been  carried  into  execution  as  fast  as 
means  would  permit.  In  the  rear  of  the  main  edifice 
is  a  court  surrounded  by  buildings,  and  devoted  to 
the  purposes  of  the  laundry.  To  the  east  of  the 
building,  the  ground  slopes  towards  a  narrow  stream 
of  water.  Hitherto  the  more  important  wants  of  the 
institution  have  prevented  the  expenditure  of  much 
money  upon  objects  of  taste.  The  grounds  are  capa- 
ble of  forming  agreeable  and  beautiful  walks,  which 
when  laid  out  tastefully  and  well  shaded,  will  be  very 
attractive.  The  upper  stories  of  the  seminary  com- 
mand extensive  and  delightful  views  of  Holyoke  and 
Tom,  with  the  intervening  valleys  and  gorges. 

The  buildings  were  all  planned  by  Miss  Lyon, 
not  indeed  without  consultation  with  others.  This 
required  much  time  and  care,  and  it  was  so  well  done 
that  but  few  subsequent  changes  have  been  found 
desirable. 

In  the  fall  of  1837,  so  much  of  this  plan  had  been 
executed  that  Miss  Lyon  had  in  her  hands  the  means 


ERECTION  OP  THE  EDIFICE.  193 

of  making  the  grand  experiment  towards  which  she 
had  so  long  looked  forward  with  intense  interest." 
Though  thankful  to  God  that  he  had  at  last  given  her 
a  place  where  she  could  firmly  plant  her  feet,  little 
thought  she  of  exultation  while  less  than  half  the 
money  requisite  to  complete  the  edifice  had  been  ob- 
tained, while  the  great  experiment  remained  untried, 
and  especially  while  so  many  of  the  most  judicious 
Christians  had  much  hesitation  as  to  its  success.  It 
was  still  a  struggle  so  severe  as  hardly  to  permit  the 
leader  in  it  to  draw  her  breath  freely.  Girding  her 
loins  anew,  in  faith  and  hope  she  pressed  forward 
with  unabated  ardor  to  reach  the  goal  set  before  her. 


""ytfoo. 


194  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  MOUNT  HOLYOKE  SEMINARY. 

NovEMBEp  8,  1837,  the  time  advertised  for  open- 
ing the  school  arrived,  but  the  building  was  hardly 
completed.  The  doors  were  without  steps,  the  wood- 
house  was  not  covered,  the  furniture,  delayed  by 
storms,  had  not  arrived,  the  stoves  were  not  set  up, 
and  the  bedding  pledged  by  the  ladies  in  different 
towns  had  not  nearly  all  made  its  appearance.  There 
were  rooms  for  eighty  pupils,  and  more  than  that 
number  within  a  few  days  gathered  to  the  spot.  They 
were  not,  however,  young  and  inexperienced  pupils. 
The  larger  part  of  them  were  over  twenty  years  of 
age,  some  of  whom  had  been  suspending  their  educa- 
tion two  or  three  years  in  order  to  finish  it  at  the 
new  seminary.  They  had  acquired  a  knowledge  of 
persons  and  things  which  books  cannot  give,  and 
which,  in  the  exigencies  of  life,  is  to  book  knowledge 
what  gold  and  silver  are  to  the  paper  currency  which 
represents  them.  Mr.  Porter  of  Monson,  and  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Safford  of  Boston,  were  on  hand  for  the  first 
week  or  ten  days,  to  aid  and  encourage  the  teachers 
in  their  work.  Mr.  Safford,  lending  a  hand  where- 
ever  he  was  most  needed,  worked  day  after  day  till 
long  after  dark,  setting  up  bedsteads  and  stoves,  un- 
packing and  arranging  furniture,  and  the  like,  just  as 
if  he  were  the  father  of  this  great  family.  Mr.  Porter 
devoted  his  attention  mostly  to  the  out-door  concerns, 
and,  by  the  way,  gave  Miss  Lyon  lessons  in  book- 
keeping. 


FIRST  YEAR  AT  HOLYOKE.  195 

Miss  Lyon  received  every  new  comer  with  the 
welcome  of  a  mother  to  a  daughter.  The  grasp  of 
her  hand,  the  light  of  her  eye,  and  the  tones  of  her 
voice,  went  to  the  stranger's  heart,  as  on  learning 
the  name  she  said,  "  Oh  yes,  Miss  Reed,"  or  "  Miss 

Bailey,"  or  "Miss ,  I  know  you;  I  was  expecting 

you;  I  am  glad  you  have  arrived.  Miss  Whitman, 
who  has  arrived  before  you,  will  show  you  your 
room;  and  you  can  take  off  your  things,  and  then 
come  down  stairs,  and  we  will  give  you  something 
to  do  to  help  along  in  our  great  work.  We  are  all 
bees  here — busy  and  happy."  That  voice  had  an 
own  mother's  ring  in  it.  Heart  met  heart  instantly. 
Teacher  and  pupil  were  one.  So,  instead  of  sitting 
down  in  her  half-furnished  room,  to  shiver  and  hold 
her  hands,  she  was  forthwith  employed  on  some  part 
of  the  work  necessary  to  the  settling  of  the  family 
in  their  new  home.  Benevolence,  the  genius  that 
hovered  over  the  spot,  came  down  and  rested  upon 
them,  warming  every  heart  and  lighting  every  face 
with  contentment  and  peace.  Never  gathered  at  one 
place  eighty  more  willing  hearts,  or  more  nimble 
hands  and  feet.  By  example,  precept,  and  practice, 
they  learned  that  year  the  best  of  lessons,  to  endure 
hardness  as  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Not  knowing  in  the  morning  how  the  wants  of 
the  night  were  to  be  met.  Miss  Lyon's  heart  would 
go  forth  in  gratitude  to  God  and  to  the  distant  donor 
as,  again  and  again,  on  the  arrival  of  different  pupils, 
the  welcome  communication  would  be  made,  "  Miss 
Lyon,  I  have  brought  the  box  of  bedding  that  the 
ladies  of  our  town  have  furnished  for  a  room ;  where 


196  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

shall  it  be  put  ?"  When  evening  came,  the  oil  failed 
not  in  the  cruse.  "Faint,  yet  pursuing,"  had  long 
been  her  motto  ;  "  perplexed,  but  not  in  despair," 
was  now  added.  Her  Father's  hand,  seen  in  every 
extremity,  sweetened  every  gift,  multiplied  every  joy. 
She  had  long  been  one  of  those  who,  "  observing  prov- 
idences, have  providences  to  observe."  How  often 
with  a  seraphic  smile  did  she  say,  "  Whoso  is  wise, 
and  will  observe  these  things,  even  they  shall  under- 
stand the  loving-kindness  of  the  Lord." 

The  domestic  arrangements  were  peculiar  in  two 
respects : 

First,  all  the  pupils  were  required  to  room  and 
board  within  the  walls  of  the  seminary.  The  nearest 
neighbor  cannot  send  a  daughter  thither,  who  does 
not  conform  to  this  regulation.  It  was  adopted  by 
Miss  Lyon  in  order  to  exclude  all  adverse  outward 
influences,  to  bring  the  scholars  directly  imder  the 
eye  and  example  of  the  teachers,  and  to  place  all  the 
pupils  on  the  most  perfect  equality  as  to  restrictions 
and  privileges. 

The  second  feature  peculiar  to  the  seminary  con- 
sisted, as  has  been  seen,  in  having  the  domestic  work 
performed  by  the  members,  so  that  no  hired  female 
help  need  be  admitted.  The  amount  of  labor  required, 
usually  about  an  hour  daily,  she  believed  would  give 
health,  and  instead  of  being  a  hinderance  to  study, 
would  be  a  valuable  means  of  mental  as  well  as  phys- 
ical culture.  At  the  outset  of  the  undertaking  in 
1834,  Miss  Lyon  had  incorporated  this  feature  into 
her  project  as  one  means  of  lessening  the  expenses  of 
the  school,  and  of  gaining  the  attention,  approbation, 


FIRST  YEAR  AT  HOLYOKE.  197 

and  assistance  of  the  Christian  yeomanry  of  New 
England.  It  has  been  seen  that  it  was  a  cherished 
object  with  her,  to  establish  a  seminary  where  the 
pupils  might  be  united  in  one  family,  and  which  might 
be  so  moderate  in  its  expenses  as  to  be  open  to  the 
daughters  of  those  whose  means  are  limited.  But  as 
she  dwelt  longer  on  this  feature  of  the  plan,  she  saw 
other  and  still  stronger  reasons  in  its  favor,  until  the 
argument  from  the  mere  saving  of  expense  sunk,  in 
her  view,  into  comparative  insignificance.  She  be- 
came so  thoroughly  convinced,  even  before  her  own 
school  opened,  that  this  plan  was  desirable,  indepen- 
dently of  its  pecuniary  advantages,  that  on  one  of  her 
visits  to  Ipswich  she  tried  all  her  powers  of  logic 
and  rhetoric  on  Miss  Grant  to  convince  her  that  it 
would  be  wise  to  adopt  the  same  in  the  school  at  Ips- 
wich. 

In  a  circular  published  before  the  school  opened, 
she  hardly  alludes  to  the  economy  of  the  plan  as  a 
reason  for  its  adoption.  "  One  object  of  this  arrange- 
ment is,"  she  says, "  to  give  to  the  institution  a  greater 
degree  of  independence.  The  arrangements  for  board- 
ing all  the  pupils  in  the  establishment  will  give  it  an 
independence  with  regard  to  private  families  in  the 
neighborhood,  without  which  it  would  be  difficult,  if 
not  impossible,  to  secure  its  perpetual  prosperity.  The 
arrangements  for  the  domestic  work  will,  in  a  great 
measure,  relieve  it  from  another  source  of  depressing 
dependence— a  dependence  on  the  will  of  hired  do- 
mestics. 

"  Another  object  of  this  arrangement,"  she  adds, 
"  is  to  promote  the  health,  the  improvement,  and  the 


198  LIFE  OF  MART  LYON. 

happiness  of  the  pupils :  their  health,  by  its  furnish- 
ing them  with  a  little  daily  exercise  of  the  best  kind  ; 
their  improvement,  by  its  tending  to  preserve  their 
interest  in  domestic  pursuits ;  and  their  happiness, 
by  its  relieving  them  from  that  servile  dependence  on 
common  domestics,  to  which  young  ladies,  as  mere 
boarders  in  a  large  establishment,  are  often  subject, 
to  their  great  inconvenience.  The  adoptfon  of  a  fea- 
ture like  this,  in  an  institution  which  aims  to  be  better 
endowed  than  any  other  existing  female  seminary  in 
the  country,  must  give  it  an  attitude  of  noble  inde- 
pendence which  can  scarcely  fail  to  exert  an  elevating 
influence  on  its  members." 

To  her  friends  she  used  playfully  to  say,  that 
"  the  domestic  work  would  prove  a  sieve,  that  would 
exclude  from  the  school  the  refuse,  the  indolent,  the 
fastidious,  and  the  weakly,  of  whom  you  could  never 
make  much,  and  leave  the  finest  of  the  wheat,  the 
energetic,  the  benevolent,  and  those  whose  early  train- 
ing had  been  favorable  to  usefulness,  from  whom  you 
might  expect  great  things." 

This  feature  was  entirely  original  with  Miss  Lyon, 
and  was  much  objected  to  by  many  of  her  judicious 
friends,  some  of  whom  dared  not  recommend  her  plans 
while  this  scheme  formed  a  part  of  them.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  gave  the  plan  most  interest  with  a 
largo  and  highly  respectable  class  of  the  community, 
and  it  was,  no  doubt,  one  of  the  most  successful  argu- 
ments employed  in  obtaining  funds. 

The  time  had  now  indeed  come  in  which  her  the- 
ory was  to  be  put  to  the  test.  Here  were  eighty 
pupils  to  be  fed,  the  food  to  be  cooked  with  their  own 


FIRST  TEAR  AT  HOLYOKE.  19P 

hands,  and  a  mansion  ninety-four  feet  by  fifty,  with 
its  halls  and  staircases,  to  be.kept  in  order,  while  the 
appurtenances  and  utensils  for  housekeeping  were 
incomplete  and  untried.  A  scheme  was  to  be  tested 
without  a^y  previous  experience,  and  in  the  face  of 
many  predictions  of  failure. 

But  she  who  had  shed  tears  of  joy  and  gratitude, 
while  walking  over  the  site  the  evening  after  the  first 
ground  was  broken  and  the  corner-stone  laid — she 
who  with  prayer  and  earnest  longings  had  seen  the 
walls  slowly  rise,  found  no  place  for  despondency 
now  that  her  feet  rested  on  a  firm  and  sure  founda- 
tion, where  she  could  put  forth  all  her  strength. 

Fully  determined  to  quiet  objectors  and  satisfy 
donors.  Miss  Lyon  at  the  outset  gave  to  the  domestic 
department  her  first  and  chief  attention.  It  was  com- 
paratively easy  to  find  a  lady  to  whom  the  literary 
interests  of  the  institution  could  be  in  a  great  degree 
confided,  but  on  no  one  but  herself  could  she  rely  for 
setting  in  happy  and  harmonious  motion  the  compli- 
cated wheels  of  the  domestic  and  culinary  depart- 
ments. Although  she  had  never  been  a  proficient  in 
household  work,  and  for  more  than  a  dozen  years 
had  been  entirely  out  of  practice,  she  not  merely  gave 
her  time  and  strength  to  planning  and  superintending 
it,  but  also  when  it  was  necessary  labored  diligently 
with  her  own  hands.  She  esteemed  nothing  as  drudg- 
ery which  the  exigencies  of  the  institution  required 
of  her.  Let  the  embarrassment  be  what  it  might,  she 
was  never  known  to  "worry,"  but  in  patience  she 
possessed  her  soul.  Her  trust  in  God  and  her  confi- 
dence in  herself  were  too  strong  to  allow  her  equa- 


?00  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

nimity  to  "be  disturbed.  Like  Joshua  the  servant  of 
the  Lord,  whom  she  often  held  up  for  imitation,  she 
was  strong  and  of  good  courage. 

None  but  those  who  have  known  from  experience 
can  appreciate  the  brain-work  required  in  adjusting 
a  time-table  to  meet  the  studies,  the  recitations,  and 
the  housework  of  a  family  and  school  conducted  on 
the  principles  of  the  Holyoke  seminary.  Miss  Lyon 
had  the  tact  of  an  Elizabeth  in  discovering  what 
every  body  was  good  for,  and  the  skill  of  a  Napoleon 
in  finding  her  generals  and  putting  them  in  their  right 
places.  But  then  it  would  happen  that  the  very  best 
person  to  aid  in  preparing  the  dinner  was  in  the 
geometry  class  that  recited  at  eleven  o'clock.  What 
was  to  be  done  ?  It  was  easier  to  alter  the  time  of  a 
recitation  than  to  find  a  competent  person  to  take 
the  scholar's  place  on  the  dinner  circle,  or  to  change 
the  dinner  hour.  But  when  the  recitation  hour  was 
altered,  some  one  else  might  be  incommoded,  and  an- 
other change  must  be  made.  Never  had  Miss  Lyon 
more  frequent  use  for  her  wondrous  power  of  inven- 
tion. Yet  her  resources  proved  inexhaustible.  When 
for  the  twentieth  time  the  literary  and  domestic  de- 
partments interfered  with  one  another,  she  set  herself 
for  the  twentieth  time  to  readjust  her  time-table  with 
as  much  cheerfulness  as  she  had  constructed  it  at 
first.  She  had  often  said  at  Ipswich,  that  she  could 
suggest  plans  by  the  score,  leaving  Miss  Grant  to 
reject  or  adopt  them  as  she  chose.  So  at  the  Hol- 
yoke seminary  her  treasury  was  always  full,  and  in 
every  exigency  the  right  order  of  exercises  would 
appear  in  due  season. 


FIRST  YEAR  AT  HOLYOKE.  201 

During  that  first  cold  winter,  Miss  Lyon's  powers 
of  body  and  mind  were  in  constant  service  from  six- 
teen to  eighteen  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four.  On 
her  devolved  not  only  the  care  of  forming  and  ma- 
turing plans  for  the  school,  but  also  of  seeing  that 
fourscore  and  five  persons  had  three  sufficient  and 
comfortable  meals  each  day,  along  with  the  veriest 
minutiae  of  household  duties.  From  basement  to  at- 
tic she  was  in  constant  request.  The  celerity  of  her 
movements  was  almost  equal  to  the  gift  of  multipres- 
ence,  and  yet  she  could  hardly  answer  the  calls  for 
her  aid  and  counsel.  As  with  Joseph,  so  with  her, 
whatsoever  was  done  in  the  house,  she  was  the  doer 
of  it.  It  is  no  small  thing  for  a  matron,  even  with 
well-trained  and  ready  servants,  to  put  and  keep 
every  thing  in  order  in  so  large  a  house ;  but  it  is 
more  yet,  lovingly  to  lead  eighty  scholarly  girls  to 
do  it.  Not  only  had  every  thing  a  place,  but  she 
knew  the  place  of  every  thing.  No  wonder  that,  as 
she  sometimes  playfully  said,  her  head  seemed  full  of 
bread,  pans,  tin-dippers,  spoons,  and  clothes-pins ;  but 
she  saw  "  holiness  to  the  Lord  "  legibly  inscribed  on 
the  building  and  every  thing  appertaining  to  it. 
Hence  her  minute  care  that  not  a  single  utensil 
should  be  abused,  not  an  ounce  of  flour  wasted,  not  a 
door  or  window-sill  defaced.  All  had  been  conse- 
crated to  Christ,  and  all  was  regarded  by  her  as  his, 
and  not  her  own. 

To  a  family  of  students,  bread  is  emphatically  the 

staff  of  life.     Considering  the  quantity  necessary  for 

so  large  a  family,  the  season  of  the  year,  and  the 

manner  in  which  the  work  was  performed,  no  practi- 

9* 


202  LIFE  OF  MISS  LYON. 

cal  housekeeper  will  be  surprised  to  know  that  the 
first  batches  proved  sour,  or  heavy,  or  overdone,  or 
underdone.  Miss  Lyon  looked  the  difficulty  in  the 
face.  "  We  have  the  best  of  flour,"  she  said,  "  we  can 
have  good  bread,  we  mtist  have  it."  Selecting  some 
of  her  most  reliable  pupils,  she  took  the  lead  herself 
in  the  business  of  bread-making,  until  her  large  fam- 
ily was  regularly  supplied  with  sweet,  light  bread. 
Not  a  teacher  or  pupil  in  the  establishment  had  ever 
before  seen  a  Rumford  oven.  She  carried  her  porta- 
ble writing-desk  to  the  baking-room,  and  there,  in  a 
warm  corner  beside  the  oven,  at  such  intervals  as 
she  could  command,  conducted  at  the  same  time  her 
extensive  correspondence,  and  watched  the  baking 
processes.  This  she  did  for  days  and  weeks,  until 
she  had  learned  herself  and  taught  her  baking  circle 
all  the  mysteries  of  this  important  operation.  To  her 
happy  view,  whatever  was  necessary  to  the  health 
and  comfort  of  her  numerous  family,  was  as  vitally 
connected  with  the  cause  of  Christ,  as  direct  labors 
for  the  salvation  of  souls.  On  those  winter  morn- 
ings, while  it  was  yet  dark  and  cold,  she  rose  from 
her  couch  to  watch  the  rising  of  the  bread,  with  an 
eye  as  single  to  the  glory  of  God  as  though  she  had 
risen  to  pray.  In  fact  almost  her  every  breath  was 
a  prayer.  Although  no  one  was  ever  more  careful  to 
secure  set  seasons  for  devotion,  she  used  to  say  that 
one  could  pray  not  only  when  on  her  knees,  but  while 
making  her  bed,  if  she  had  sufficient  discipline  of 
mind,  and  had  trained  herself  to  it.  That  baking- 
room  was  consecrated  by  many  a  prayer  oflfered 
before  daybreak  on  those  winter  mornings.     With 


FIRST  YEAR  AT  HOLTOKB.  203 

the  simplicity  of  a  child,  along  with  her  prayers  for 
blessings  on  a  lost  and  perishing  world,  she  would 
also  mingle  requests  to  her  heavenly  Father  to  bless 
her  in  the  work  of  her  hands. 

A  noble  band,  as  has  already  been  implied,  was 
that  which  gathered  in  those  halls  that  first  year  : 
young  maidens  of  lofty  aims,  noble  impulses,  and 
steady  devotion  to  Christ  and  his  cause.  The  Lord 
magnified  his  handmaid  in  their  sight,  and  helped 
them  to  see  with  her  eyes  the  importance  of  her  plans, 
and  to  enter  into  the  work  with  a  zeal  scarcely  sec- 
ond to  her  own.  How  did  they  delight  to  rally 
round  such  a  leader.  Imbibing  her  spirit,  their  am- 
bition was  not  so  much  to  learn  the  greatest  possible 
amount  from  their  books,  as  to  vie  with  one  another 
in  the  noble  strife  of  self-denying  labors  and  sacrifices 
for  the  good  of  the  institution.  In  every  strait,  some 
could  always  be  found  ready  and  glad  to  put  their 
shoulders  to  the  wheel.  As  Paul  was  no  less  an 
apostle  when  stitching  the  canvas  for  a  tent,  than 
when  writing  the  epistle  to  the  Romans ;  so  they, 
instructed  by  their  heaven-taught  guide,  felt  them- 
selves no  less  the  children  of  a  heavenly  King  when 
employed  at  their  domestic  work,  than  when  wor- 
shipping in  his  courts.  The  love  of  Christ  constrain- 
ed them  as  much  in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other. 
Scattered  in  this  and  other  lands,  they  have,  almost 
without  exception  of  name,  or  time,  or  place,  been 
working  women,  serving  their  day  and  generation — • 
asking  neither  thanks  nor  praise,  seeking  no  reward 
but  the  blessed  consciousness  of  entering  into  the 
work  and  sufferings  of  their  divine  Master.     Some 


204  LIFE  OF  MISS  LYON. 

have  already  reached  the  goal,  and  received  their 
crown.  Others  are  still  waiting — serving  or  endur- 
ing. But  whether  walking  the  golden  streets,  or  tar- 
rying on  the  race-ground  below,  they  are  sisters  all, 
living  in  an  atmosphere  of  love  and  purity,  bound  to 
one  another,  to  their  sainted  friend,  and  to  their  com- 
mon Lord,  by  ties  as  invisible  and  as  indissoluble  as 
that  which  binds  satellites  to  planets,  and  planets  to 
the  great  centre. 

The  care  of  bringing  the  expenditures  within  the 
receipts,  fell  also  on  Miss  Lyon.  She  had  insisted, 
against  the  advice  of  the  trustees  even,  on  having 
the  charge  for  board  and  tuition  placed  at  sixty- 
four  dollars  per  annum,  a  little  more  than  half  the 
expense  at  Ipswich.  Provisions  were  higher  that 
year  than  previous  years.  Never  did  financier  more 
carefully  manage  and  economize  his  resources.  She 
looked  well  to  the  ways  of  her  household  to  see  that 
there  was  no  waste,  and  that  the  most  was  made  of 
every  thing.  She  succeeded.  What  joy  at  the  close 
of  the  year  filled  her  heart  and  illumined  her  face, 
as  she  exhibited  her  accounts  to  the  trustees,  and 
showed  them  that  the  income  had  not  only  met  the 
outgoes,  but  that  there  remained  a  balance  on  hand 
towards  defraying  the  debt  which  had  been  incurred 
in  the  erection  of  the  edifice,  and  for  which  they 
were  personally  responsible.  Their  incredulity  van- 
ished. They  saw  that  she  understood  business.  A 
home  at  the  seminary  and  two  hundred  dollars  a 
year,  was  all  that  she  could  ever  be  induced  to  receive 
as  compensation  for  her  services:  She  meant  that 
missionary  self-denial  and  economy  should  be  exer- 


FIRST  YEAR  AT  HOLYOKE.  205 

cised  by  all  who  had  any  thing  to  do  with  the 
school ;  and  she  set  the  example  herself.  Gladly 
would  the  directors  of  many  a  corporation  pay  thou- 
sands a  year  for  such  financial  skill  and  care  as  she 
exercised  for  Christ  and  the  church,  almost  at  her 
own  cost. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  Miss  Lyon's  labors 
this  first  year  were  limited  to  the  domestic  and  finan- 
cial concerns  of  the  institution.  She  matured  a  course 
of  study,  watched  the  recitations,  directed  individual 
scholars  in  the  selection  of  their  studies,  criticised 
compositions,  instructed  the  Middle  class  in  chemistry, 
performing  with  them  a  course  of  experiments,  and 
taught  several  other  branches.  For  the  first  time  in 
her  life,  she  taught  Whately's  logic.  It  was  her  first 
acquaintance  with  that  prince  of  living  thinkers  and 
reasoners.  She  entered  into  the  science  with  as 
much  eagerness  and  relish  as  she  had  plunged  into 
Virgil  in  the  days  of  her  youth,  leading  the  class 
through  moods,  figures,  and  fallacies,  as  ably  as  any 
professor  of  metaphysics. 

The  course  of  study  as  laid  out  by  Miss  Lyon 
occupied  at  least  three'  years.  The  pupils  are  ar- 
ranged according  to  their  attainments  in  three  classes, 
denominated  Junior,  Middle,  and  Senior.  The  requi- 
sites for  admission  to  the  Junior  class  amount  to  a 
good  common-school  education,  and  pupils  are  ad- 
mitted only  on  a  thorough  examination.  The  course 
of  study  coincides  very  nearly  with  that  pursued  in 
our  best  colleges,  with  the  exception  of  Greek,  the 
more  difficult  Latin  authors,  and  the  higher  branches 
of  mathematics. 


206  LIFE  OF  MARY  LTON. 

As  a  general  rule,  Miss  Lyon  did  not  permit  any 
scholar  to  pursue  more  than  three  new  studies  at  the 
same  time.  The  recitations  occupy  from  half  an  hour 
to  an  hour  each.  The  teachers  endeavor  by  weekly 
reviews  to  fix  permanently  in  the  mind  the  knowledge 
acquired.  "  It  takes  longer,"  Miss  Lyon  would  say, 
"  to  learn  a  lesson  for  a  lifetime  than  for  a  week,  but 
it  is  the  best  economy  to  give  it  the  extra  attention 
necessary  to  make  it  a  sure  and  lasting  investment." 
The  standard  of  recitation  held  before  the  pupil  from 
the  first,  has  been  unfailing  accuracy,  and  a  large 
majority  attain  it.  No  prizes  are  ever  ofijered,  nor 
appointments  held  out  to  the  gifted  and  ambitious. 
The  great  motive  presented  to  the  scholars  is  their 
accountability  to  God  for  the  right  use  of  minutes 
and  hours.  As  a  general  rule,  they  are  so  anxious  to 
advance  in  knowledge,  that  they  need  much  oftener 
the  exhortation  to  let  their  moderation  be  known, 
than  to  redeem  the  time. 

Nearly  all  the  scholars  of  the  first  year  were  pro- 
fessing Christians.  Miss  Lyon  often  regaled  her  own 
soul  and  theirs  by  unfolding  to  them  the  riches  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ.  Then  she  would  spread  before  them 
as  on  a  map,  in  glowing  colors,  the  wants  of  a  perish- 
ing world.  Again,  by  strong  appeals,  she  would  in 
her- own  irresistible  manner,  unlock  the  fountains  of 
emotion,  and  kindle  in  their  hearts  the  high  purpose 
of  consecrating  themselves  to  the  interests  of  the  Re- 
deemer's kingdom. 

The  first  anniversary  occurred  in  the  latter  part 
of  August,  and  was  a  season  replete  with  interest. 
The  principal  examinations  were  on  Monday  and 


FIRST  TEAR  AT  HOLYOKE.  201 

Tuesday,  and  were  well  sustained.  On  Wednesday, 
while  more  than  one  half  the  school  went  to  Amherst 
to  attend  the  commencement  exercises,  the  remainder, 
with  ready  minds  and  willing  hands,  devoted  the 
time  to  preparing  a  collation  for  the  next  day.  About 
forty  invited  guests  were  to  be  entertained,  and  as 
usual,  all  was  to  be  done  without  a  vestige  of  foreign 
aid. 

Thursday  morning  rose  clear  and  bright.  Miss 
Lyon  with  a  womanly  modesty  shrunk  from  leading 
her  band  of  maidens  to  the  church,  and  so  far  as  pro- 
priety would  allow,  insisted  that  the  address  should 
be  given,  and  the  presentation  of  the  diplomas  made, 
in  the  seminary  hall.  But  the  evident  fact,  that  not 
one  half  of  the  friends  of  the  school  and  of  the  pupils 
could  be  accommodated  in  the  hall,  led  her  to  submit 
the  question  to  the  trustees.  They  decided  in  favor 
of  going  to  the  church.  Under  their  escort,  the 
orator  of  the  day,  Rev.  Dr.  Hawes  of  Hartford,  the 
teachers,  the  Senior  class,  and  the  school,  went  to  the 
church  in  procession.  They  walked  with  heads  un- 
covered, shaded  by  parasols.  The  side  pews  and  gal- 
leries were  already  crowded  with  interested  specta- 
tors, when  Miss  Lyon  led  her  beautiful  troop  ill  quiet 
dignity  to  the  seats  reserved  for  them.  It  was  an 
hour  in  her  life  never  to  be  forgotten.  The  battle 
had  been  fought,  the  victory  was  hers.  Public  opin- 
ion had  come  over  in  a  good  degree  to  her  side. 
She  knew  that  she  had  prevailed.  In  all  that  year, 
she  had  never  found  an  hour  to  spend  in  astonish- 
ment at  her  success  and  position,  but  the  circum- 
stances now  forced  the  view  upon  her  j  and  wonder, 


208  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

gratitude,  and  praise  filled  her  heart  with  a  flood  of 
emotions  such  as  ordinary  minds  cannot  conceive. 
Her  great  soul  was  surcharged  with  pent  up  joy. 
.  Smiles  and  tears  strove  for  the  mastery  on  her  radi- 
ant face.  She  retired  within  herself,  gave  way  to  a 
joy  with  which  no  one  could  intermeddle,  and  for  an 
hour  resigned  herself  to  the  emotions  of  the  occa- 
sion. 

Every  thing  was  done  to  her  mind.  Dr.  Hawes' 
address  was  practical  and  judicious.  Her  beloved 
pastor  and  friend,  the  Rev.  Joseph  D.  Condit,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  neatly  and  elegantly 
presented  the  diplomas  to  the  three  eldest-born  daugh- 
ters of  the  seminary.  Her  heart  was  in  the  gift.  Her 
name  was  on  the  parchments.  The  trio  were  hence- 
forth her  fellow-laborers  in  the  work  of  the  world's 
regeneration.  He  who  gave  the  diplomas,  she  who 
signed  them,  and  one  of  the  three  who  received  them, 
a  child  of  her  own  sister  and  a  child  of  her  own  heart, 
now  mingle  their  praises  together  before  the  great 
white  throne. 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  209 


CHAPTB  R  IX. 

LEADING  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  INSTITUTION. 

The  guiding  cloud  which  had  gone  before  Miss 
Lyon  in  her  three  years  wanderings,  and  which  had 
hovered  over  the  house  erected  and  consecrated  to 
the  Lord  during  the  first  year  of  the  school,  now 
entered  and  rested  permanently  within  its  walls. 
Welcome  to  her  soul  was  the  Shechinah  of  the  Lord. 
Henceforth  the  seminary  was  to  be  her  home.  Its 
inmates  were  her  children,  intrusted  to  her  by  their 
heavenly  Father  to  be  brought  up  for  him.  Like  a 
true  Christian  mother,  she  had  no  joy  comparable  to 
that  of  seeing  them  walking  in  truth  and  peace.  The 
school  was  but  an  expansion  of  herself.  Though  her 
immediate  duties  lay  mostly  within  the  walls  of  the 
seminary,  their  bearings  connected  her  with  the  liter- 
ary, religious,  and  benevolent  interests  of  the  wide 
world.  It  was  this  which  made  her  devotion  to  the 
seminary  a  pure  and  expansive  benevolence. 

At  the  close  of  the  first  year  Miss  Caldwell,  who 
had  been  associate  principal,  was  married,  leaving  the 
entire  care  of  the  literary  department  to  Miss  Lyon. 
At  the  reopening  of  the  school,  the  building,  by  some 
crowding,  was  made  to  accommodate  one  hundred 
pupils.  A  new  band  of  teachers,  the  three  graduates 
of  the  first  class,  now  came  to  her  aid.  Having,  dur- 
ing the  first  year,  in  a  good  measure  settled  the  organ- 
ization of  the  school  and  family,  she  was  now  able  to 
give  herself  more  fully  to  the  business  of  instruction. 


210  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

Besides  continuing  to  teach  chemistry  to  the  Middle 
class,  she  took  almost  the  entire  charge  of  the  recita- 
tions of  the  Senior  class. 

But  the  most  absorbing  and  the  most  exhausting, 
as  well  as  the  most  delightful  part  of  her  work,  was 
the  training  and  instructing  of  her  pupils  in  the  way 
to  heaven.  Every  thing  else  was  not  only  kept  sub- 
ordinate, but  made  subservient  to  their  entrance  and 
advancement  in  the  divine  life.  To  her  resorted 
many  destined  to  be  the  helpmeet  of  ministers,  and 
the  teachers  of  Christian  schools.  To  that  fold  came 
also  many  daughters  who  had  been  given  to  the 
Lord  in  the  faith  of  godly  parents,  and  prayed  over 
in  the  closet  and  at  the  family  altar  every  day  since 
the  light  first  dawned  upon  their  eyes.  Miss  Lyon 
looked  beyond  fathers  and  mothers,  guardians  and 
friends,  and  the  wills  of  the  pupils  even,  and  received 
them,  each  and  all,  as  intrusted  to  her  by  God  to  be 
trained  for  his  service.  To  her  the  Bible  was  the 
source  of  light  divine,  and  she  sought  to  cast  its  radi- 
ance on  every  mind.  She  asked  no  parent's  creed, 
and  never  spoke  of  sects,  but  industriously  inculcated 
the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  as  she  understood  them, 
holding  herself  accountable  to  God  for  faithfulness  to 
him  and  to  those  committed  to  her  charge.  She  re- 
garded each  pupil  as  selected  and  sent  to  the  seminary 
on  purpose  to  be  moulded  into  his  likeness.  She 
sought  not  merely  their  conversion,  but  their  enlist- 
ment in  the  great  work  of  saving  a  lost  world.  It 
was  the  end  and  aim  of  all  her  efforts  to  make  the 
seminary  a  nursery  to  the  church.  She  diligently 
prayed  and  sought  that  all  the  genius  and  learning, 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  211 

talent  and  tact  there  gathered,  might  be  baptized  into 
the  spirit  of  the  gospel.  Whatsoever  would  interfere 
with  this  object  she  scrupulously  avoided.  Hence 
her  rule,  that  on  the  Sabbath's  sacred  hours  no  visit- 
ing should  be  allowed  out  of  the  house  or  within  it. 
"The  Sabbath,"  she  would  say,  "is  a  key  to  unlock 
treasures  for  the  week.  It  is  the  day  that  God  most 
honors  in  the  conversion  of  sinners,  and  the  strength- 
ening and  comforting  of  his  people.  Let  us  each  be 
in  our  place,  so  that  if  the  blessing  should  descend, 
we  may  not  miss  it."  * 

In  fact,  every  plan  of  Miss  Lyon,  whether  it  refer- 
red to  the  disposing  of  the  outward  circumstances,  or 
the  controlling  of  the  inward  life  of  her  pupils,  had 
their  spiritual  welfare  for  its  end  and  aim.  In  all 
her  arrangements,  the  invisible  world  and  the  ever- 
lasting life  were  taken  into  the  account  as  easily  and 
naturally  as  the  present  and  tangible.  From  an  exer- 
cise in  spelling  to  the  giving  of  the  diplomas,  and 
from  washing  the  glasses  to  preparing  the  anniversary 
dinner,  every  thing  was  definitely  intended  to  fit  these 
beloved  daughters,  as  she  delighted  to  call  them,  for 
service  in  the  church  ;  and  had  Miss  Lyon  been  asked, 
she  could  have  shown  in  any  case  the  connection  be- 
tween these  passing  engagements  and  their  future  use- 
fulness. The  studies  were  carefully  selected  to  this 
end.  "Never  pursue  any  study,"  she  often  said  to  the 
pupils, "  merely  because  you  will  be  called  to  teach  it. 
If  you  cannot  turn  it  to  account  yourselves  in  hasten- 
ing the  millennial  glory,  neither  can  your  pupils. 
Study  and  teach  nothing  that  cannot  be  made  to  help 
in  the  great  work  of  converting  the  world  to  Christ." 


212  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

She  assigned  to  every  hour  of  the  twenty-four  its  ap- 
propriate duty,  not  merely  to  make  her  pupils  indus- 
trious and  eflficient  women,  but  that  Satan  might  not 
be  able  to  find  mischief  for  idle  brains  and  idle  hands 
to  do.  She  allowed  them  to  take  but  two  or  three 
studies  at  a  time,  lest  they  should  become  distracted 
by  too  great  a  variety  of  pursuits,  or  diverted  by 
overmuch  business,  from  thinking  of  God  and  their 
obligations.  She  inspired  them  to  aim  at  entire  fix- 
edness and  concentration  in  study,  that  they  might  be 
able  to  pray  without  wandering  thoughts.  Mental 
culture  was  with  her,  not  an  end,  but  a  means.  She 
sought  to  discipline  and  enrich  the  mind,  that  it  might 
be  a  keener  and  more  efiective  instrument  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Lord. 

She  made  constant  reference  to  the  Bible.  She 
had  a  text  for  every  principle,  every  hint,  and  every 
theme.  When  requesting  her  pupils  not  to  visit  each 
other  on  the  Sabbath,  she  would  say,  "  It  is  not  in  our 
power  to  make  you  keep  the  day  holy  in  your  hearts, 
yet  we  are  bound  by  the  fourth  commandment  to 
see  that  you  keep  it  externally."  When  requesting 
them  to  attend  meeting  on  the  Sabbath,  she  would 
quote  the  words  of  the  apostle,  "  Not  forsaking  the 
assembling  of  yourselves  together,  as  the  manner  of 
some  is."  The  psalnjist's  comparison  of  a  good  man 
to  "  a  tree  which  bringeth  forth  his  fruit  in  his  sea- 
son," was  her  favorite  sanction  of  punctuality.  In 
the  time  of  green  fruit,  Paul's  direction  to  the  jailer, 
"  Do  thyself  no  harm,"  was  enforced  upon  the  pupils. 
Violations  of  physiological  laws,  such  as  overindul- 
gence of  the  appetite,  thin  shoes,  or  tight  waists,  were 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  213 

shown,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  pupils,  to  be  viola- 
tions of  the  sixth  commandment.  By  the  eighth,  using 
things  without  leave,  injuring  or  not  returning  bor- 
rowed articles,  defacing  furniture  not  their  own,  and 
all  careless  use  of  common  property,  were  shown  to 
be  forbidden.  * 

Did  she  desire  to  warn  her  pupils  against  the 
treachery  of  a  fashionable  education,  in  which  the 
fingers  and  the  feet,  the  passions  and  the  appetites 
are  educated  at  the  expense  of  the  reason  and  the 
affections,  the  dancing  daughter  of  the  licentious  He- 
rodias  was  exactly  in  point.  "  This  young  lady,"  she 
would  say,  "who  could  move  with  so  much  beauty 
and  grace  as  to  delight  the  king  and  his  court,  the 
next  hour  bore  to  her  mother,  in  her  own  delicate 
hands,  the  bleeding  head  of  John  the  Baptist,  the 
harbinger  of  the  Messiah.  Thus  many  a  young  lady 
of  the  present  day,  notwithstanding  all  that  a  fashion- 
able education  can  do  for  her,  appears  in  the  parlor 
with  angelic  sweetness  in  her  face  and  tones,  the  ad- 
mired of  all  admirers,  when  she  has  a  moment  before 
pierced  the  heart  of  her  mother  with  cutting  words, 
or  roused  the  evil  passions  of  a  weary  servant  by 
harsh  and  needless  fault-finding.  The  education  that 
is  given  in  nunneries  does  not  tend  to  form  a  benevo- 
lent character,  but  to  produce  mere  outward  embel- 
lishment. It  does  not  aim  to  educate  the  pupil  to 
think,  to  take  enlarged  views  of  life,  and  to  awaken 
her  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  whole  human  family ; 
but  it  aims  to  keep  her  from  thinking,  to  contract  her 
views,  and  to  limit  her  affections  to  herself  and  the 
circle  about  her." 


214  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

In  so  large  and  complicated  an  establishment,  nu- 
merous rules  and  regulations  were  necessary  to  the 
comfort  and  order  of  the  house.  In  all  these,  Miss 
Lyon  sought  to  have  the  pupils  obey,  not  herself,  but 
God.  She  could  show  any  of  her  rules  to  be  but  an 
offshoot  of  the  first  or  second  great  commandment. 
Family  devotion,  public  worship,  and  private  prayer 
were  the  natural  details  of  the  first :  "  Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all 
thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy 
strength."  Putting  every  thing  in  its  place,  prompt- 
ness at  meals,  faithfulness  in  the  domestic  work,  were 
but  the  carrying  out  of  the  second :  "  Thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  She  was  accustomed  so  to 
set  forth  this  view,  that  the  heart  of  that  great  school 
and  its  hundreds  of  beaming  eyes  would  respond  a 
full  amen.  She  led  them  to  see  and  to  feel  that  eveiy 
thing,  from  hanging  up  a  holder,  or  setting  away  a 
flat-iron,  to  watching  by  the  side  of  the  sick,  or  pray- 
ing with  the  impenitent,  was  to  be  done  as  to  the 
Lord,  and  not  to  their  teachers.  Thus  the  humblest 
service  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  solemn  duty. 
Its  connection  with  eternity  elevated  ordinary  house- 
work to  a  level  with  the  work  of  breaking  the  bread 
of  life  to  a  benighted  mind  in  Africa  or  India.  "  A 
lady  who  has  the  genuine  missionary  spirit,"  she 
would  say,  "  will  carry  it  to  the  kitchen,  as  well  as  to 
the  monthly  concert."  This  was  no  feigned  theory 
with  Miss  Lyon.  She  did  not  resort  to  it  as  a  means 
of  carrying  her  own  will  and  way  under  pretence 
of  its  being  the  Lord's.  Every  pupil,  however  inca- 
pable of  rising  to  the  same  stand-point,  knew  and  felt 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  215 

that  this  was  no  device  of  Miss  Lyon  to  bring  her 
into  subjection.  Most  of  the  pupils,  after  observing 
the  rules  for  a  few  weeks,  saw  and  felt  that  they  were 
adopted  and  enforced  for  their  good.  The  moral 
effect  on  young  and  susceptible  minds,  of  bringing 
conscience  to  bear  so  universally  and  equally  on  the 
daily  life,  in  small  matters  as  in  great,  was  overpow- 
ering. If  they  violated  a  rule  of  school,  they  felt  that 
they  violated  the  great  law  of  love.  They  walked  in 
the  open  air,  and  studied  in  their  own  rooms,  equally 
under  a  sense  of  duty.  This  made  it  easy  to  keep  all 
their  appointments.  It  made  them  sober  and  vigilant 
without  a  conscious  effort. 

Miss  Lyon  kept  all  the  rules  of  school  herself. 
None  of  her  pupils  were  more  scrupulous  than  herself 
to  rise  or  retire  at  the  appointed  hour.  The  lan- 
guage of  her  lips  and  life  was,  we  will  all  do  right 
together.  "  God  in  his  providence,"  she  would  say, 
"  has  placed  us  teachers,  in  a  sense,  over  you.  Not 
that  we  are  any  better,  or  any  more  worthy  of  respect 
than  you,  but  in  our  position  it  is  our  duty  to  see 
that  you  keep  the  rules.  It  is  easier  to  conform  to  a 
law  than  to  oblige  others  .to  conform  to  it.  We  hope 
that  you  will  not  impose  upon  us  this  painful  neces- 
sity. We  hope  that  each  of  you  will  do  right  of  her- 
self;  but  if  any  should  not,  we  must  not  forget  the 
case  of  good  old  Eli.  He  expostulated  with  his  sons, 
and  said, '  Why  do  ye  so  ?'  but  he  did  not  oblige  them 
to  mend  their  ways ;  and  how  dreadful  wns  the  end  of 
those  sons,  how  awful  God's  frown  on  Eli.  Now  we 
mean  not  only  to  explain  the  rules,  but  to  see  that  you 
keep  them.    This  is  the  work  God  puts  upon  us,  and 


216  LIFE  OF  MART  LYON. 

we  do  not  intend  to  shirk  it.  Your  predecessors  have 
made  it  a  rery  pleasant  task,  and  you,  we  hope  and 
trust,  will  do  the  same." 

It  was  more  as  a  family  than  as  a  school  that  Miss 
Lyon  governed  her  pupils.  "Family  government," 
she  held,  "  should  be  fixed,  mild,  undeviating,  inflex- 
ible ;  so  that  on  the  part  of  the  parent  nothing  is 
necessary  but  advice ;  on  the  part  of  the  child,  noth- 
ing but  the  most  respectful  deference."  To  this  point, 
year  after  year,  she  brought  the  government  of  her 
large  family. 

The  following  incidents,  related  by  one  who  had 
been  a  member  of  the  seminary,  show  us  Miss  Lyon's 
skill  in  controlling  the  conduct  of  pupils  without  the 
direct  exercise  of  authority : 

"  It  was  contrary  to  the  rules  of  Miss  Lyon's  estab- 
lishment that  any  young  lady,  sick  or  toell,  should  ab- 
sent herself  from  the  regular  meals  without  permis- 
sion so  to  do.  '  If  you  are  not  able  to  come  to  me 
yourself,  or  some  other  teacher,  -send  your  room-mate,' 
was  ever  her  injunction.  Some  young  ladies  would 
go  to  the  table  without  turning  their  plates.  Jhe 
sick  had  their  particular  table,  which  each  could 
leave  for  her  own  room  whenever  she  chose,  without 
waiting  for  the  whole  company  to  rise,  as  was  the 
rule  at  the  health  tables.  No  young  lady  expected  to 
be  a  little  unwell  and  stay  in  her  own  room  during 
meal-time,  and  keep  it  from  Miss  Lyon's  knowledge, 
without  being  disappointed.  Her  Argus  eyes  saw 
every  thing.  Neither  would  a  young  lady  unnecessa- 
rily send  an  apology  for  non-appearance  more  than 
once  or  twice.     Miss  Lyon  nipped  such  things  in  the 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  217 

bud  most  efifectually.  I  well  remember  a  case  illus- 
trative of  this  power  of  hers.  A  friend  of  mine,  feel- 
ing rather  indisposed,  concluded  not  to  go  down  to 
the  dining-room  to  tea  one  night.  I  was  deputed,  as 
her  friend,  to  report  her  case  to  Miss  Lyon,  at  whose 
table  she  sat.  Through  carelessness,  I  did  not  speak 
of  my  friend's  illness  till  after  the  family  had  risen 
from  the  meal.  Then  Miss  Lyon  was  inquiring  of 
another  teacher  why  this  young  lady  absented  herself 
from  the  supper-table.  I  explained  the  matter,  as  I  . 
thought,  most  satisfactorily  :  '  My  friend  did  not  feel 
able  to  come  down  to-night.'  '  Ah,  s^ick,  is  she  ?'  ex- 
claimed Miss  Lyon,  fixing  her  piercing  eyes  full  upon 
me.  'No,  0  no,  only  a  little  unwell.'  'Would  n't  she 
like  something  in  her  room  ?'  '  Yes,  she  commission- 
ed me  to  carry  up  to  her  a  cup  of  tea  and  a  cracker.' 
'  You  may  go  to  her  now,'  replied  Miss  Lyon  ;  '  I  '11 
see  to  that.'  I  ascended  to  the  fourth  story  to  my 
companion ;  I  found  her  very  comfortably  seated  in 
her  rocking-chair  by  the  window,  watching  a  glorious 
sunset.  I  placed  myself  by  her  side,  and  soon  forgot 
the  tea  and  cracker  and  all  things  pertaining  to  it. 
In  a  few  moments,  a  slight  tap  was  heard  at  the  door. 
'  Come  in,'  both  exclaimed  in  one  voice.  The  door 
slowly  opened,  and  Miss  Lyon  walked  into  the  room, 
bearing  a  waiter,  with  my  friend's  tea  and  cracker. 
Had  a  spirit  from  the  unseen  world  appeared  before 
us,  we  could  not  have  been  more  astonished.  Our 
apologies  were  profuse.  My  poor  friend  had  no  idea 
of  Miss  Lyon's  coming  from  the  basement  to  the  fourth 
story  for  her.  "With  perfect  kindness,  our  beloved 
teacher  told  us  that  every  one  was  tired  at  night,  and 

Mary  Lyuu.  1 0 


218  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

she  could  come  as  well  as  any  other.  She  made  pai> 
ticular  inquiries  of  my  friend,  who  had  nothing  to 
say,  and  then  departed.  That  young  lady  never  re- 
mained in  her  room  afterwards,  as  the  bell  rang  for 
the  dining-room,  when  she  was  able  to  take  a  little 
tea  and  cracker. 

"  I  knew  a  young  lady,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
term,  arrive  rather  tired,  feel  rather  selfish  and  indo- 
lent, and  fancy  refreshments  would  taste  much  sweeter 
in  her  own  room.  Accordingly  she  sent  to  the  gen- 
eral directress  of  domestic  work,  and  asked  that  some 
young  lady  might  come  to  such  a  number,  with  such 
and  such  articles  of  food.  Not  long  after,  the  supper 
came.  But  Miss  Lyon  brought  it  to  the  healthy,  stout 
young  lady,  lounging  carelessly  upon  the  bed,  detail- 
ing the  incidents  of  her  recent  journey  to  her  social 
companions.  How  thankful  was  I  not  to  meet  the 
calm,  kind,  half-reproachful  glance  from  the  weary 
eye  of  Miss  Lyon." 

Now  and  then  at  long  intervals  a  clique  of  re- 
spectable scholars  would  lean  the  wrong  way.  Their 
influence  would  be  in  the  wrong  scale.  While  they 
would  be  careful  to  keep  within  the  letter  of  the  law, 
their  spirits  would  be  sadly  out  of  tune  with  Christ's 
and  with  Miss  Lyon's.  It  would  be  not  so  much 
what  they  did  as  what  they  failed  to  do,  that  would 
grieve  her.  In  such  cases,  if  a  few  general  remarks 
before  the  whole  school  did  not  remedy  the  evil,  she 
would  take  them  to  her  room,  one  by  one,  and  set 
before  each  alone  the  wrong  she  was  doing  to  herself 
and  to  that  beloved  institution.  Seldom  did  she  fail 
to  find  access  in  this  way  to  the  heai't  of  the  perverse 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  219 

pupils,  and  they,  having  seen  her  tenderness  and 
regard  for  them,  often  became  her  closest  friends, 
and  were  the  last  to  suffer  a  word  against  her  to  be 
uttered  in  their  presence.  In  many  cases  each  would 
yield,  saying,  "  Miss  Lyon,  trust  me,  I  will  not  give 
you  any  more  trouble."  Some  few  would  never  yield 
to  her  arguments  or  remonstrances.  When  it  became 
necessary,  she  could  apply  the  amputating  knife,  sev- 
ering the  unruly  member  from  the  body  to  which  it 
was  a  damage.  But  it  has  been  said,  that  she  would 
expel  a  pupil  in  as  good  humor  as  she  would  receive 
one.  "  I  am  sorry  for  you,"  she  would  say,  "  but  the 
good  of  this  beloved  institution  requires  it." 

Napoleon,  it  has  been  said,  took  it  for  granted 
that  every  body  was  selfish.  Miss  Lyon  took  it  for 
granted  that  every  one  with  whom  she  had  to  do  was 
benevolent.  Her  own  soul  was  so  imbued  with  love, 
that  she  unconsciously  attributed  the  same  to  others. 
She  included  every  human  soul  among  her  kindred, 
and  never  tried  to  realize  that  others  felt  no  such 
broad  relationship.  If  any  work  was  to  be  done  for 
the  good  of  the  family,  like  an  hour's  ironing  in  a 
warm  day,  she  would  not  ask,  Is  any  one  willing,  but, 
"How  many  would  like  to  do"  thus  and  so.  This 
assumption  infused  a  sort  of  temporary  benevolence 
into  those  who  were  in  communication  with  her. 
When  urging  a  pupil  to  some  self-denying  act  like 
taking  an  uncongenial,  a  slack,  or  an  indolent  room- 
mate, it  was  an  understood  principle  in  all  her  rea- 
sonings, that  the  young  lady  with  whom  she  was  con- 
versing had  as  tender  a  regard  for  the  well-being  and 
personal  comfort  of  the  room-mate  in  question  as  for 


220  LIFE  OP  MISS  LYON. 

her  own,  and  that  she  would  do  as  much  to  promote 
them.  "  If  we  put  two  of  these  unfortunate  children 
together,"  she  would  say,  "  they  will  certainly  injure 
one  another.      Somebody  must  take  pity  on  them. 

Who  for  one  can  do  it  better  than  you  ?   Miss 's 

mother  died  when  she  was  a  child,  and  her  early 
training,  I  know,  has  been  deficient.  She  needs 
some  one  to  help  her.  She  loves  you,  you  know,  and 
you  cannot  tell  how  much  good  you  can  do  her  by 
rooming  with  her.  Of  course,  you  would  be  glad  to 
do  her  good,  would  n't  you  ?  Some  self-denial,  no 
doubt,  but  then  we  cannot  do  much  without  self- 
denial.  I  made  up  my  mind  on  that  point  many  years 
ago."  She  would  talk  on  in  this  way,  until  the  young 
lady  would  go  away  counting  it  a  privilege  granted 
her  by  the  Saviour  to  receive  that  forlorn  companion 
to  her  own  room,  and  take  care  of  her  as  a  sister, 
without  money  and  without  price. 

It  is  a  fact  abundantly  illustrated,  both  at  Ipswich 
and  South  Hadley,  that  characters  voluntarily  sub- 
jected to  this  sort  of  discipline,  grow  astonishingly  in 
grace  and  excellence,  but  it  requires  a  great  and  rare 
power  of  persuasion  to  induce  them  to  enter  upon  the 
work.  Entered  upon  heartily,  in  the  spirit  in  which 
Miss  Lyon  eiyoined  it,  it  is  a  labor  of  love  for  the 
lost  which  the  Saviour  delights  to  own  and  bless. 

Miss  Lyon's  corps  of  teachers  warmly  and  power- 
fully seconded  her  views  and  efforts.  They  were  one 
to  every  twenty  of  the  pupils,  and  had  they  been  of 
diverse  purposes,  could  have  counteracted  her  influ- 
ence. She  carefully  guarded  against  any  such  con- 
tingency.   At  her  suggestion,  the  trustees  at  the  out* 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  221 

set  adopted  the  rule,  that  the  right  of  appointing  the 
assistants  should  be  vested  in  the  principal.  On  no 
conBideration  would  Miss  Lyon  have  taken  charge  of 
a  school  where  the  right  of  selecting  her  assistants  was 
not  conceded  to  her.  Her  teachers  must  be  a  trained 
band,  who  could  sympathize  and  cooperate  with  her 
in  the  great  work  of  doing  good  to  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  the  pupils.  In  order  to  this,  they  must  be 
of  her  own  choosing. 

The  first  year  the  teachers,  as  has  been  stated, 
were  all  from  the  Ipswich  school.  After  that,  they 
were  selected  from  her  own  graduates.  They  regard- 
ed Miss  Lyon  with  mingled  love,  confidence,  and  ven- 
eration, entered  enthusiastically  into  her  views  of 
education,  and  saw  in  her  the  servant  of  the  Lord, 
raised  up  for  the  very  work  that  she  was  doing.  Like 
her,  they  taught  not  for  money  or  for  fame,  but  from 
the  love  of  God,  and  to  do  good.  If  dollars  and 
cents  were  the  first  want  of  any  mind.  Miss  Lyon 
neither  needed  nor  desired  that  mind  in  her  work. 
The  more  genius  and  talent  she  could  command  the 
better,  provided  they  were  baptized  into  the  spirit  of 
Christ ;  but  if  they  were  only  means  of  self-exaltation, 
she  could  better  dispense  with  them.  In  selecting 
her  assistants.  Miss  Lyon's  first  question  was  not,  Are 
you  of  one  religious  denomination,  or  another,  but, 
Are  you,  like  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  willing  to  make 
yourself  poor,  that  others  through  your  poverty  may 
be  rich  ?  Though  respectably  paid,  they  could  often 
have  commanded  larger  salaries  elsewhere.  Money 
was  not  even  second  in  the  list  of  motives  which  kept 
them  at  their  Alma  Mater.     A  desire  to  do  good, 


222                     LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON.  ■ 

the  pleasure  of  unfolding  minds  of  a  high  order,  de-  ; 

light  in  communing  with  congenial  spirits,  the  identi-  \ 

fication  of  the  seminary  with  themselves,  and  the  lux-  1 

ury  of  living  in  what  seemed  to  them  a  miniature  j 
paradise,  and  of  anticipating  the  millennial  glory, 

were  far  stronger  motives  with  them.     They  were  j 

not  women  of  transports  and  revelations.     Calm,  | 

contemplative,  energetic,  reverential  minds,  able  to  ; 
comprehend  the  plan  of  redemption,  transparent  to 

her  and  to  one  another,  gathered  around  her.    How-  ^  ] 
ever  they  might  differ  in  taste  and  attainments,  they  ^! 

all  believed  their  beloved  Alma  Mater  the  model  of  ; 
a  school,  a  copy  of  the  pattern  shown   Miss  Lyon 

in  the  mount ;   especially  in  giving  the  first  place  i 

in  its  list  of  studies  to  the  Bible,  and  in  employing  ] 

no  domestics.     They  were  able  to  see  that  man's  ^ 

chief  end  is  to  glorify  God,  and  that  the  chief  end  of  1 

a  school  should  be  to  bring  its  pupils  to  adopt  this  1 

high  and  holy  end.    They  held  with  Miss  Lyon,  that  ' 

the  intellect  is  as  much  made  for  the  moral  and  sen-  ; 

tient  soul  as  the  body  for  the  mind ;  that  the  first  and  ; 
most  important  use  of  memory  is  to  be  a  tablet  for 

the  engraving  of  God's  law  and  tlic  recording  of  the  | 

soul's  acts,  and  that  the  primary  office  of  reason  and  \ 
imagination  is  to  read  and  apply  that  law.     They 

kept  constantly  in  mind,  that  at  the  winding  up  of  i 

life's  drama,  they  and  their  pupils   are  not  to  be  ' 

asked  how  much  Latin  or  algebra  they  knew,  but  \ 

whether  they  had  loved  and  followed  Jesus  Christ,  i 

and  were  united  to  him  as  a  branch  is  united  to  the  i 

vine.     Yet  a  solemn  sense  of  accountability  to  God  J 
for  the  right  use  of  their  time  and  faculties,  secured 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  223 

a  higher  standard  of  study  and  recitation  among  the 
scholars  than  any  motives  drawn  from  the  world  of 
time  and  sense  could  have  done.  The  fear  of  the 
Lord  is  indeed  "  wisdom  and  instruction." 

At  the  weekly  teachers'  meetings,  there  was  no 
clashing.  All  saw  eye  to  eye.  Miss  Lyon  mingled 
with  her  assistants  like  an  older  sister,  as  ready  to 
receive  as  to  give  hints.  No  slurs  on  poor  scholars 
were  allowed.  "  Speak  of  them  as  of  sisters,"  was  Miss 
Lyon's  oft-repeated  injunction ;  and  the  precept  was 
observed  in  letter  and  in  spirit.  The  progress  of  the 
pupils  in  whatsoever  is  lovely  and  of  good  report, 
was  communicated ;  and  the  benevolent  labor  neces- 
sary in  behalf  of  any  who  were  not  making  the  best 
use  of  their  opportunities,  was  apportioned  among  the 
teachers. 

In  direct  labors  for  the  conversion  of  sinners,  they 
also  cooperated  with  Miss  Lyon,  seeming  often  to  be 
more  like  pastors  than  simple  members  of  "  the  church 
in  the  seminary,"  as  Miss  Lyon  used  to  call  her  band 
of  Christians.  They  conducted  the  lesser  meetings, 
conversed  and  prayed  with  pupils  alone,  and  sought, 
first  of  all,  that  souls  might  be  given  them  as  seals  of 
their  fidelity,  and  crowns  of  joy  in  the  great  day. 

One  of  the  most  efficient  means  of  grace  employed 
in  the  school  was  what  is  called  the  half-hour  system. 
It  had  been  adopted  at  Ipswich,  at  Ashfield,  and  at 
Buckland,  in  seasons  of  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit, 
and  had  been  continued  on  account  of  its  happy  effects. 
It  was  at  once  stereotyped  by  Miss  Lyon  at  South 
Hadley.  It  was  adapted  to  serious  and  reflecting 
minds,  that  know  how  to  make  good  use  of  such  in- 


224  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

tervals,  and  consider  it  a  privilege  to  be  alouc  with 
themselves  and  with  God  twice  every  day. 

In  the  construction  of  the  house,  as  great  care 
was  taken  to  secure  facilities  for  private  devotion  as 
for  sleeping.  For  the  first  and  every  successive  set 
of  pupils,  Miss  Lyon  took  as  much  pains  to  provide 
seasons  for  secret  prayer  as  for  unbroken  study. 
Before  breakfast,  at  the  ringing  of  a  bell,  every  pupil, 
except  the  few  who  were  busied  in  the  domestic  hall, 
was  expected  to  be  alone,  either  in  her  room,  or  in 
the  large  lighted  closet  with  which  each  room  was 
furnished,  and  to  remain  there  until  a  second  bell 
gave  notice  that  the  half-hour  was  ended.  A  similar 
arrangement  was  made  for  the  evening.  Early  in  the 
year  Miss  Lyon  illustrated  and  enforced  the  precept 
of  our  Saviour,  "  Enter  into  thy. closet,  and  when  thou 
hast  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  which  is  in 
secret."  "  Christ,"  she  would  say,  "  has  given  the 
command.  We  have  seen  to  your  having  the  oppor- 
tunity to  obey  it.  The  responsibility  of  keeping  it  is 
now  on  you,  and  not  on  us.  We  cannot  make  you 
pray  if  we  would.  The  matter  is  between  God  and 
your  own  soul.  If  you  count  it  a  privilege  to  spread 
out  your  wants  before  God,  you  have  the  opportunity. 
If  you  misuse  the  time,  you  and  you  alone  must  answer 
for  it." 

She  would  at  the  same  or  at  some  other  time  give 
to  young  Christians,  who  wished  to  grow  in  grace, 
directions  for  spending  the  time  profitably.  No  illus- 
tration perhaps  can  do  justice  to  her  instructions ;  but 
they  were  much  in  the  following  strain. 

"  Read  a  portion  of  Scripture.    Look  up  to  God 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  235 

before  you  begin,  and  while  you  are  reading,  for  light 
from  his  holy  word.  Read  in  course;  you  will  be 
more  likely  to  read  regularly.  Perhaps  you  think 
that  you  will  not  in  this  w^y  be  so  likely  to  meet 
with  the  passage  suited  to  your  particular  case.  It 
is  suprising  how  the  Christian,  truly  led  by  the  Spirit, 
will  find  in  his  daily  portion  just  the  instruction  and 
comfort  adapted  to  his  circumstances.  The  same  om- 
niscient God  who  gives  the  wayside  violet  its  beauti- 
ful tintSj  and  guides  satellites  and  suns  in  their  mighty 
courses,  knows  your  circumstances.  You  know  not 
how  many  hairs  you  have  upon  your  head,  but  He 
has  numbered  them  all.  He  knows  every  thing  about 
you.  He  knew  millions  of  years  before  you  were 
born  just  what  you  would  need  for  guidance  and  for 
food  this  day.  He  knew  what  chapter  would  come 
in  course  in  your  reading,  and  that  it  would  just  meet 
your  case.  In  the  counsels  of  eternity  he  arranged 
all  the  circumstances  that  surround  you  here.  You 
need  not  think  you  must  read  three  chapters.  Read 
with  a  heart  lifted  upwards  imploring  guidance  and 
ready  to  be  instructed,  until  you  come  to  something 
which  seems  to  take  hold  of  you.  Lay  hold  on  that, 
hide  it  in  your  heart  and  feed  upon  it." 

Miss  Lyon  well  knew  what  it  is  to  draw  sup- 
plies of  grace  from  the  exhaustless  fountain  of  inspir- 
ed truth.  When  she  was  at  Ipswich,  an  intimate 
friend  relates  that  in  one  of  their  seasons  of  spirit- 
ual communion,  she  asked  Miss  Lyon  what  means  she 
thought  had  been  especially  conducive  to  her  own 
progress  in  the  divine  life.  She  replied,  "  Studying 
the  Scriptures,  and  laboring  to  save  souls." 
10* 


226  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

"Before  you  kneel  to  pray,  consider  what  you 
want  to  ask  God  to  grant  you.  Be  careful  for  noth- 
ing ;  but  in  every  thing  by  prayer  and  supplication, 
with  thanksgiving,  let  your  requests  be  made  known 
unto  him.  You  need  not  be  careful  about  your  words. 
When  you  pray  with  others  you  have  to  seek  out 
acceptable  words,  but  when  you  are  alone,  use  any 
language  that  comes  easiest  to  you.  Bring  every 
thing  before  him  ;  spread  out  all  your  wants.  Con- 
fess your  sins,  your  secret  sins.  Recount  your  mer- 
cies ;  thank  God  for  his  goodness.  When  love  flows 
in  upon  your  soul,  tell  your  Saviour  that  you  love 
him,  that  you  would  gladly  serve  him,  that  you  will 
go  anywhere  and  do  any  thing  for  his  sake,  that  you 
will  receive  what  he  sends,  and  submit  to  what  ho 
appoints.  Pray  for  those  you  love  at  home;  pray 
for  them  by  name.  You  feel  a  great  deal  more  inter- 
ested when  you  pray  for  particular  individuals  than 
you  do  in  general  petitions.  Plead  for  God's  Spirit 
on  your  teachers,  your  companions — on  those  who 
have  gone  out  from  the  seminary,  especially  on  those 
who  are  laboring  far  away  among  the  heathen.  You 
will  find  your  half  hour  entirely  too  short.  How 
often  when  the  bell  rings  for  its  close,  it  seems  to  me 
as  though  it  had  but  just  begun.  You  will  not  know 
how  to  leave  your  Father  and  your  God.  You  will 
want  to  stay  longer  in  his  more  immediate  presence." 

The  pupil,  if  she  desired,  might  be  sure  to  find 
other  opportunities  to  go  to  God  in  prayer.  Many 
inmates  of  the  house  knew  what  it  was  oftener  than 
twice  a  day  to  make  known  their  requests  to  their 
heavenly  Father.    But  on  these  set  seasons,  the  si- 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  227 

lence  was  as  deep,  the  seclusion  as  perfect,  the  still- 
ness as  impressive  as  though  they  had  been  on  Ta- 
bor's sacred  hill,  and  to  many  it  was  a  season  scarce- 
ly less  refreshing.  Miss  Lyon's  happiness  was  a  living 
spring,  clear  and  sparkling,  bubbling  up  and  over- 
flowing its  bounds  and  refreshing  whatever  came  near 
it.  It  did  not  need  to  be  vaunted.  It  proclaimed 
itself.  God  seemed  so  to  surround  her  soul  with  his 
presence,  that  every  side  of  it  was  kept  warm  and 
bright.  In  her  "half-hour,"  for  she  prayed  when  the 
rest  did,  we  learned  by  the  embodiment  of  her  expe- 
rience in  her  morning  lectures,  that  she  came  into  a 
nearness  to  God  too  close  to  be  described.  In  those 
sacred  moments  she  seemed  to  have  that  sense  of  his 
presence  which  we  anticipate  when  death  removes  the 
veil.  Just  as  no  reasoning  can  make  it  plainer  that 
we  are  surrounded  by  material  objects,  so  she  in  her 
closet  knew  God  without  a  reason  and  without  a 
doubt.  She  said  little  about  assurance, or  enjoyment: 
that  kingdom  which  is  not  meat  and  drink,  but.  right- 
eousness, and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  was 
within  her  own  soul.  H^er  face,  as  she  left  her  closet, 
was  often  radiant  with  celestial  joy  and  beauty. 

The  Christians  in  the  school  of  course  took  thank- 
fully the  moments  thus  assigned  to  communion  with 
heaven,  and  grew  in  holy  love  thereby.  Serious  and 
reflecting  minds  also,  although  unaccustomed  to  pray- 
er, often  received  an  abiding  impression.  An  hour  a 
day  alone,  an  hour  which  the  scholar  may,  to  be  sure, 
spend  as  she  pleases,  but  which  she  distinctly  under- 
stands is  given  her  to  commune  with  her  own  heart 
and  with  God,  and  which  she  well  knows  is  thus  used 


228  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

by  a  large  majority  of  her  companions,  has  a  powerful 
influence  to  lead  her  to  think  of  her  moral  relations, 
to  open  the  Bible,  and  to  bow  before  her  God.  Said 
a  pupil  who  entered  the  seminary  unconverted,  "  My 
conscience  would  not  let  me  study  any  thing  in  my 
half  hour,  less  serious  than  Wayland  or  Butler."  To 
these  quiet  half  hours,  many  refer  their  first  abiding 
interest  in  divine  things. 

It  should  be  stated,  that  in  calling  the  pupils  to 
account  for  this  time,  they  were  never  asked  to  report 
how  they  spent  it,  but  only  whether  they  were  free 
from  interruption,  and  innocent  of  interrupting  others. 

It  should  also  be  said,  that  if  the  school  had  been 
composed  entirely  or  chiefly  of  thoughtless  and  friv- 
olous girls,  who  would  have  considered  the  solitary 
hour  a  weariness,  Miss  Lyon  would  not  have  enforced 
the  season  upon  them,  but  rather  have  furnished 
them  a  time  and  a  place  to  pray,  when  truth  had  so 
afiected  their  minds  and  hearts,  that  they  would  count 
the  opportunity  a  priceless  boon. 

Another  means  of  growth  in  grace,  of  a  noiseless 
and  unpretending  character,  is  thus  described  by 
Mrs.  Eddy : 

"  The  recess  meetings  are  short  seasons  of  prayer, 
held  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening.  There  are  in 
the  evening  two  study  hours,  separated  by  an  inter- 
val of  fifteen  minutes.  At  the  commencement  of  the 
school  year,  each  section-teacher*  invites  those  of  her 
section  who  desire  to  spend  this  recess  in  social  pray- 

*  The  school  is  divided  into  eight  or  ten  sections.  Each 
section  is  committed  to  a  teacher  who  has  especial  charge  of 
the  mannera,  conduct,  and  religions  welfiure  of  its  members. 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  229 

er,  to  assemble  in  her  room.  The  exercises  commence 
with  the  singing  of  a  verse  or  two  of  a  familiar  hymn. 
The  teacher  next  calls  on  some  one  by  name  to  lead 
in  prayer,  and  others  voluntarily  follow.  Usually 
there  are  three  or  four  prayers.  Often  on  these  oc- 
casions the  whole  school  at  the  ringing  of  the  bell,  is 
seen  moving  silently  towards  the  appointed  places  of 
concourse.  For  about  two  minutes  the  passage  halls 
are  thronged.  Then  all  is  silent,  save  the  voice  of 
tjong  from  eight  or  ten  different  quarters.  The  low 
voice  of.  supplication  follows.  The  bell  again  rings. 
All  rise  and  silently  return  to  their  rooms.  Each 
door  closes.  A  few  words  perhaps  are  exchanged 
between  room-mates,  and  all  are  again  deeply  absorbed 
in  their  studies.  Refreshed  in  spirit  and  strengthen- 
ed in  mind  by  this  entire  change  of  thought,  by  this 
elevation  of  the  soul  to  heaven,  they  are  able  again 
to  apply  themselves  earnestly,  vigorously,  and  suc- 
cessfully to  their  lessons. 

The  moral  influence  of  these  little  meetings  has 
always  been  great.  The  few  who  are  disposed  to 
continue  in  their  rooms,  cannot  be  rude  with  such 
impressive  voices  around  them.  Every  influence  leads 
them  to  go  with  the  many  whose  hearts  incline  them 
to  pray.  The  section-teacher  seeks  to  influence  all 
the  members  of  her  own  division  to  attend.  The 
meeting  being  entirely  voluntary,  the  young  ladies 
'TEpgard.  it  as  peculiarly  their  own.  It  is  devoid  of 
formality,  a  sbrt  of  ejaculatory  prayer-meeting.  It 
is  also  a  sort  of  moral  thermometer,  indicating  the 
temperature  of  religious  feeling  both  among  Chris- 
tians and  the  impenitent. 


230  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

The  regular  study  of  the  Bible  was  another  visi- 
ble means  of  grace.  The  scholars  were  expected  to 
study  the  weekly  lesson  at  least  two  hours  in  their 
own  rooms.  On  Monday  they  were  examined  on  it 
an  Hbur  or  more,  in  separate  divisions,  by  teachers  of 
sections,  much  as  in  a  well-conducted  Bible  class ; 
and  on  some  subsequent  day  of  the  week  it  was  re- 
viewed. The  result  of  this  arrangement  was,  that  in 
a  three  years'  course  of  study,  more  time  was  given 
to  the  Bible  than  to  any  other  book.  The  Old  Tes- 
tament received  its  full  share  of  attention,  for  Miss 
Lyon  saw  in  the  old  dispensation  the  marrow  of  the 
new.  The  object  aimed  at  in  the  study  of  the  Scrip- 
tures was,  not  to  enter  into  minute  criticisms  or  curi- 
ous speculations,  but  to  fix  permanently  in  the  mind 
graphic  pictures  of  scenes  and  events,  imperishable 
conceptions  of  divine  truth,  and  a  practical  under- 
standing of  God's  revealed  will.  The  lesson  of  the 
week  often  suggested  themes  for  her  morning  lectures. 
The  offering  of  Isaac,  the  ladder  between  earth  and 
heaven,  the  manna  of  the  desert,  and  the  grapes  of 
EshCol,  under  her  earnest  eloquence,  became  invested 
in  many  minds  with  the  most  sacred  and  delightful 
associations. 

Miss  Lyon  had  a  peculiar  tact  for  drawing  a 
direct  reproof  from  the  lesson  in  hand.  "Was  the 
history  of  Esau's  selling  his  birthright  a  part  of  the  les- 
son, and  was  any  pupil  disposed  to  give  the  pleasures 
of  the  palate  a  high  rank  in  her  list  of  enjoyments,  she 
could  so  link  the  two  that  no  one  could  fail  to  see 
and  feel  the  likeness.  The  self-indulgent  child  could 
not  but  see  her  own  image  in  Esau,  who,  as  he  said, 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  231 

•was  "  ready  to  die"  because,  forsooth,  it  was  dinner- 
time, and  he  smelt  the  savory  viands  which  did  not 
belong  to  him,  and  so  in  the  moment  of  desire  sold 
his  priceless  birthright  for  a  mess  of  pottage.  The 
murmurings  of  the  Israelites  over  their  sweet,  light 
bread  would  be  so  presented,  that  the  grumbling  pu- 
pil would  see  herself  in  the  mirror,  and  blush  at  her 
devotion  to  things  that  perish  in  the  using.  "  Keep  the 
body  under,"  was  enforced  once  and  again  from  the  ex- 
ample of  Daniel  and  his  three  companions,  as  well  as 
from  that  of  Paul.  If  there  was  one  lesson  which  more 
than  another  she  taught  by  precept  and  enforced  by 
her  example,  it  was,  that  the  body  is  made  for  the 
mind,  and  not  the  mind  for  the  body.  "  Eat  to  live, 
not  live  to  eat ;"  "  keep  the  body  a  servant,  give  rea- 
son and  conscience  the  reins,"  were  her  oft-repeated 
injunctions.  She  delighted  in  subjecting  the  flesh  to 
the  spirit.  She  relished  the  endurance  and  fortitude 
of  the  apostle  Paul.  His  stripes  and  perils,  his  hun- 
ger and  thirst,  his  cold  and  nakedness,  were  no  more 
than  what  she  would  have  borne  in  the  same  blessed 
cause.  Had  she  been  beaten  and  thrust  into  an  inner 
prison,  she  would  have  been  found  praying  and  prais- 
ing God,  rather  than  moaning  and  lamenting.  She 
often  said  to  her  pupils,  "  Keep  your  tears  for  your 
sins." 

The  crossing  of  the  Red  sea  and  of  the  Jordan, 
the  march  around  Jericho,  and  the  sin  of  Achan,  were 
lessons  from  which  Miss  Lyon  set  forth  the  beauty  of 
faith  and  truthfulness  in  the  most  impressive  manner. 
A  shudder  ran  through  the  school  as  she  depicted  the 
casting  of  lots  before  the  Lord  for  the  detection  of 


232  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

the  sacrilegious  oflfender.  Nearer  and  yet  nearer 
came  the  fatal  designation.  Slowly  but  surely  comes 
the  decisive  cast.  The  last  lot  is  drawn.  The  doomed 
man  is  singled  out.  He  stands  before  them  all,  the 
convicted  thief,  the  troubler  of  Israel.  And  Joshua 
says,  "  My  son"  give,  I  pray  thee,  glory  to  the  Lord 
God  of  Israel,  and  make  confession."  What  a  demand ! 
Called  on  to  praise  God  for  his  own  detection.  None 
but  the  truly  regenerate  can  do  that,  and  yet  this 
was  his  duty.  He  confesses ;  he  seems  penitent. 
Perhaps  he  finds  mercy  above,  but  on  earth  the  sen- 
tence must  be  executed.  He  must  receive  the  threat- 
ened penalty.  He  has  sinned  publicly;  he  must  be 
publicly  punished.  His  family  connived  at  the  wick- 
ed deed,  and  they  must  share  his  doom :  they  were 
silent  when  they  should  have  spoken ;  they  were  par- 
takers of  his  crime.  Children  and  parents  are  bound 
together  ;  companions  in  sin  here ;  companions  in 
Buffering  hereafter.  A  wondrous  power  she  had  of 
kindling  the  conception  of  her  hearers;  and  just 
when  their  interest  was  most  intense,  she  would  turn 
and  say,  "  What  was  Achan's  sin  ?  He  disobeyed  the 
express  command  of  God.  Have  not  you  many  times 
done  the  same  thing  ?  He  robbed,  not  man,  but  God. 
He  took  for  himself  that  which  belonged  to  the  Lord. 
Have  you  never  done  the  same?  Have  you  never 
spent  oa  yourself,  on  your  appetites,  on  your  dress, 
the  time  or  the  money  that  belonged  to  the  Lord  ? 
In  the  days  of  Joshua,  before  revelation  had  been 
fully  given,  God  punished  sin  in  the  presence  of  the 
people.  This  was  necessary  in  order  to  convey  to 
them  his  hatred  of  sin,  and  its  certain  consequences. 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  233 

God  hates  sin  just  as  much  now.  Every  instance  of 
robbing  God,  of  appropriating  to  ourselves  what  be- 
longs to  him,  he  marks  as  with  a  pen  of  iron  and  the 
point  of  a  diamond.  The  Sabbath,  the  day  of  holy 
rest,  is  God's  time.  We  have  arranged  the  house 
and  the  domestic  work  so  as  to  favor  the  keeping  of 
it  sacred  to  its  appointed  purpose.  If  you  spend  its 
precious  hours  in  sleep,  or  in  listlessness,  in  reading 
works  which  merely  gratify  your  taste  and  imagina' 
tion,  or  in  writing  letters  home,  the  robbery  is  regis- 
tered on  high.  The  sin  is  the  same  as  Achan's.  God 
may  not  see  fit  at  this  period  of  the  world  to  punish 
it  openly,  and  immediately,  but  it  is  none  the  less 
recorded  above.  It  will  not  be  forgotten.  God  will 
mete  out  to  every  sin  its  due.  Achan  received  the 
penalty  of  his  here.  You  may  not  receive  yours  until 
you  stand  disembodied  at  his  bar.  In  that  world, 
which  is  lighted  by  no  sweet  Sabbath  sun,  the  recol- 
lection of  every  desecrated  day  of  rest  will  be  as 
fresh  in  your  mind  as  Achan's  theft  was  in  his  on  that 
day  of  trial  and  judgment.  With  him,  you  will  be 
constrained  to  say,  *  I  have  sinned.'  God  is  no  re- 
specter of  persons.  Because  he  does  not  touch  you 
here,  do  not  think  you  will  escape  there.  He  will  do 
none  of  his  creatures  any  wrong :  mercy  to  the  peni- 
tent, humble,  and  obedient;  but  to  the  impenitent, 
proud,  and  disobedient,  even-handed  justice.  In  eter- 
nity there  will  be  time  for  every  wrong  act  and  word 
and  thought  to  receive  its  just  desert.  Oh,  my  be- 
loved children,  take  heed  how  you  rob  God." 

The  mercy-seat,  the  daily  sacrifice,  tlie  great  day 
of  atonement,  and  the  scape-goat,  were  topics  for  the 


234  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

most  solemn  and  aflfecting  representations  of  eternal 
truth.  She  taught  no  abstract  system  of  technical 
theology.  She  gave  her  pupils,  according  to  their 
state  and  growth,  the  sincere  milk,  or  the  strong 
meat  of  the  word.  It  was  as  easy  for  her  to  unfold 
and  illustrate  great  theological  truths  as  to  give  prac- 
tical instruction.  Indeed,  she  always  founded  the  lat- 
ter on  the  former.  God's  sovereignty  and  man's  free 
agency  she  would  illustrate  by  the  history  of  Joseph, 
whose  brethren  sold  him  for  evil,  while  God  meant  it 
for  good ;  or  by  the  Assyrian,  used  as  a  staff  and  a 
rod  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  while  he  "meant  not  so, 
neither  did  his  heart  think  so."  The  depravity  of 
men's  hearts  she  not  only  taught  regularly  and  sys- 
tematically from  the  third  chapter  of  Romans,  but 
incidentally  from  the  history  of  the  Israelites,  which, 
she  used  to  say,  is  a  glass  in  which  every  one  may  see 
himself.  She  led  her  scholars  to  see  God's  hatred  of 
sin  in  the  destruction  of  Korah  and  his  company,  as 
well  as  in  the  cross  of  Calvary.  She  sought  to  tem- 
per their  zeal  with  knowledge,  to  make  them  intelli- 
gent Christians,  to  enable  them  to  give  a  reason  for 
their  belief,  and  to  plant  their  feet  firmly  on  a  rock 
that  none  of  the  "  isms  "  of  the  day  could  shake.  The 
law  and  the  testimony  were  her  touchstone  for  all 
religious  theories  and  experiences. 

While  she  exhibited  and  applied  the  law  of  God 
so  that  every  soul  acknowledged  herself  guilty  before 
him,  she  mingled  with  it  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation. 
When  commenting  on  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  of  Mat- 
thew, none  but  those  who  listened  to  her  can  ever 
understand  the  power  with  which  she  would  say,  "  I 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  235 

hope  that  on  that  great  day  I  shall  see  no  one  of  you 
on  the  left  hand.  My  mind  refuses  to  think  that  any 
one  of  you  ■will  be  there.  Ever  since  this  institution 
was  founded,  my  daily  prayer  has  been,  that  not  one 
of  its  beloved  members  may  fail  of  the  great  salva- 
tion. But  if,  on  that  last  day,  any  one  of  you  should 
be  on  the  left  hand,  nothing  will  more  aggravate  your 
sufferings  than  seeing  in  the  assembly  of  the  saved 
those  who  have  been  forgiven  such  sins  as  yours. 
Not  one  of  the  countless  sins  you  are  called  to  answer 
for,  but  you  can  find  a  soul  among  the  redeemed  who 
has  committed  the  same.  If  you  are  sent  to  the  world 
of  darkness  '  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels,' 
it  will  not  be  because  you  have  broken  God's  law; 
but  because,  having  broken  it,  you  did  not  accept  the 
offered  pardon.  No  matter  how  great  your  sins  are, 
only  come  and  believe.  It  is  as  easy  for  God  to  forgive 
ten  thousand  sins  as  one.  The  bitterest  ingredient  in 
the  cup  of  the  lost  will  be,  that  they  have  made  ship- 
wreck of  their  souls,  and  lost  heaven  and  happiness 
for  ever,  not  merely  because  they  have  sinned,  but 
because,  when  full  provision  was  made  for  their  de- 
liverance and  pardon,  they  rejected  proffered  mercy, 
and  rushed  thoughtlessly  on  to  death  and  judgment. 
How  terrible  the  sound,  'Depart,'  from  the  tender 
lips  of  Him  who,  all  your  lifetime,  waited  to  be  gra- 
cious." Such  words  as  these,  spoken  in  clear  con- 
versational tones  with  a  pathos  that  can  neither  be 
imitated  nor  counterfeited,  were  the  means  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  employed  to  bring  many  a  heavy-laden 
sinner  to  "  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world." 


236  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

These  morning  lectures  were  the  complement  and 
crowning  of  all  the  other  means  of  grace.  Three 
times  a  week  she  went  before  her  assembled  school 
with  oil  beaten  as  for  the  sanctuary.  In  preparation 
for  this  duty,  she  spent  a  season  in  study,  meditation, 
and  prayer,  and  went  directly  from  lier  closet  to  her 
desk.  As  she  passed  into  the  assembly-room  to  her 
accustomed  place  with  her  old  octavo  Bible  on  her 
arm,  she  seemed  surrounded  with  the  atmosphere  of 
heaven.  That  Bible  had  been  her  companion  from 
the  commencement  of  her  teaching  at  Buckland.  At 
the  time  of  her  death  it  was  in  its  third  binding.  She 
used  sometimes  to  say,  she  did  not  know  what  she 
should  do  when  it  again  needed  a  new  dress,  for  the 
margin  was  already  too  narrow  to  admit  of  another 
trimming.  Blessed  saint,  ere  it  needed  one,  thou 
hadst  the  open  vision,  and  hadst  no  farther  use  for 
the  familiar  glass  through  which,  from  thy  hill-top  on 
earth,  thy  faith  had  long  espied  so  clearly  the  golden 
streets  and  crystal  sea  of  the  new  Jerusalem. 

On  these  occasions  the  lecture  often  took  its  turn 
from  some  circumstance  in  the  family.  Miss  Lyon 
was  kept  well  informed  by  her  teachers  of  the  state 
of  mind  of  the  pupils.  She  aimed  to  meet  their  wants 
and  their  need.  One  of  her  pupils  has  given  a  vivid 
account  of  the  way  in  which  she  once  drew  on  her 
ample  treasury  to  meet  a  pressing  want. 

"  I  have  often,"  she  says,  "  perplexed  myself  while 
endeavoring  to  decide  in  what  lay  Miss  Lyon's  gi«at 
power  to  influence  her  pupils.  No  doubt  many  causes 
cooperated ;  but  no  one,  I  believe,  ever  questioned  the 
fact,  that-  a  few  simple  words  spoken  by  our  beloved 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  23t 

teacher  carried  with  them  irresistible  force.  An 
incident  in  point  now  occurs  to  me. 

"  During  the  time  of  *  probation/  which  was  a  pe- 
riod of  a  few  weeks  at  the  beginning  of  the  term,  in 
vrhich  the  pupils  were  carefully  and  thoroughly  ex- 
amined in  regard  to  proficiency  in  study,  good  moral 
training,  health,  and  general  habits,  one  of  our  number 
sickened  and  died.  Her  disease  was  a  painful  one, 
and  the  circumstances  attending  her  dissolution  par- 
ticularly distressing.  I  allude  to  bodily  suffering 
only,  for  her  peace  had  long  been  made  with  God. 
This  death  occurred  when  our  stay  in  the  seminary 
had  been  but  brief,  and  home  longings  were  fresh  in 
our  hearts.  The  new  comers,  too,  naturally  felt  fear- 
ful that  they  might  not  pass  successfully  the  ordeal  of 
examination.  These  circumstances  produced  in  many 
great  depression  of  mind.  It  seemed  impossible  for 
us  to  control  our  feelings  sufficiently  to  go  through 
the  routine  of  duty.  The  long  halls  of  the  seminary 
seemed  silent  and  desolate ;  an  uncertain  dread  rested 
on  our  minds ;  and  many  shuddered  when  called  to 
pass  the  room  so  lately  the  scene  of  the  death-struggle. 
I,  for  one,  seemed  to  have  changed  my  nature.  It  was 
terrible  to  me  to  be  left  alone.  The  moan  of  agony 
still  sounded  in  my  ears,  and  an  indefinite  fear  per- 
vaded my  every  thought. 

"  During  this  state  of  things,  we  assembled  as  usual 
for  general  instruction  in  the  seminary  hall.  The 
subject  of  Miss  Lyon's  lecture,  as  nearly  as  I  can  re- 
call it,  was  the  privileges  of  the  Christian  in  life  and 
in  death ;  and  truly  did  she  make  it  appear  a  blessed 
privilege  to  be  a  child  of  God.    It  was  easy  and  nat- 


238  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

ural  for  her  to  bring  her  remarks  to  bear  upon  the 
departure  of  one  who  had  so  recently  been  numbered 
in  our  assembly.  She  spoke  of  the  sudden  summons 
to  eternity,  of  young  hopes  blighted,  of  the  home  cir- 
cle desolate  because  of  a  missing  one,  and  of  the  try- 
ing circumstances  of  her  removal. 

"  Our  hearts  grew  sadder  as  we  listened,  and  it 
seemed  '  a  dread  and  awful  thing  to  die.'  But  when, 
in  tones  rapid  and  earnest,  and  with  face  radiant  from 
the  glowing  heart  within,  she  told  of  the  release  from 
sin  and  sorrow,  the  safety  from  peril  and  temptation, 
the  full  assurance  of  a  Saviour's  love,  and  perfect  bliss 
throughout  eternity — as  she  spoke  of  these  glorious 
themes  with  the  impressiveness  of  manner  so  peculiar 
to  her,  and  which  said  more  plainly  than  words,  '  I 
speak  that  I  do  know,'  our  spirits  seemed  struggling 
to  quit  their  cumbrous  clay  and  soar  above  to  a  reali- 
zation of  the  joys  depicted.  '  And  now,  my  dear  pu- 
pils,' she  added,  *  think  no  more  of  that  death-chamber 
as  the  mournful  place  where  a  poor  frail  body,  wasted 
with  disease,  stiffened  for  the  grave ;  rather  regard  it 
as  the  honored,  hallowed  spot  whence  a  purified  and 
glorious  spirit  ascended  to  its  God.' 

"  There  was  no  more  dread  upon  my  mind,  no  more 
shuddering,  when,  after  leaving  the  hall,  I  entered  the 
room  of  death ;  it  seemed  but  the  waiting-room,  where 
the  freed  spirit  had  paused  a  moment,  before  it  was 
ushered  into  the  immediate  presence  of  its  Maker." 

At  these  morning  exercises.  Miss-  Lyon  took  up 
the  ten  commandments,  the  sermon  on  the  mount,  the 
first  epistle  of  Peter,  or  some  other  rich  portion  of 
Scripture,  as  she  had  formerly  done  at  Ipswich.    In 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  239 

language  mostly  scriptural,  she  would  spread  before 
her  youthful  audience  the  depravity  of  the  heart,  the 
plan  of  salvation  through  Christ,  the  woes  of  the  lost, 
and  the  glories  of  the  redeemed. 

As  she  looked  over  the  hundreds  of  her  attentive 
auditors,  whose  faces  were  all  turned  towards  her, 
she  beheld  so  many  immortal  souls.  Their  spirits 
were  more  present  to  her  mind  than  their  forms  and 
faces  to  her  mortal  eyes.  The  sight  was  inspiring. 
She  could  fill  th^  whole  of  the  hall  with  her  voice, 
without  seeming  to  speak  loud  or  to  make  an  effort. 
Through  all  her  lectures,  she  preserved  the  friendly, 
sincere  tones  of  conversation.  When  she  read  such 
a  passage  as,  "  He  that  is  holy  let  him  be  holy  still," 
or,  "If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me  and 
drink,"  the  very  words  seemed  to  the  hearer  to  have 
a  soul  in  them.  She  uncovered  the  inward  workings 
of  her  own  mind.  She  brought  out  the  truth  that  had 
been  hidden  for  years  in  her  own  heart,  with  all  the 
layers  of  thought  which  meditation  had  gathered 
around  it.  She  could  describe  the  plague  of  a  sinful 
heart,  for  she  had  studied  her  own.  She  knew  what 
fierce  temptation  means,  for  she  had  felt  the  same. 
The  peace  and  hope  of  him  that  overcometh,  was  a 
jewel  which  she  carried  with  her.  She  prepared  the 
soil.  She  deposited  the  seed,  looking  to  God  to  bless 
his  own  word.  She  seemed  to  see  both  worlds  as 
Jesus  saw  them  when  he  gave  the  history  of  the  rich 
man  and  Lazarus.  Her  stand-point  was  on  that  nar- 
row verge  whence  she  could  look  both  ways,  upon 
time  and  upon  eternity.  No  foolisli  weakness,  no 
false  kindness,  no  fastidious  taste,  prevented  her  from 


240  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

dwelling  on  the  solemn  truth,  that  the  wicked  "  shall 
go  away  into  everlasting  punishment."  She  seemed 
to  have  walked  the  long,  dark  corridors  of  hell,  to 
have  heard  the  clanking  chains,  to  have  seen  the  un- 
dying worm  and  the  quenchless  flames.  "Language  is 
exhausted,"  she  would  say,  "  in  portraying  the  portion 
of  the  wicked.  The  reality  is  more  awful  than  any 
description.  I  shrink  from  it  as  much  as  you  do.  But 
I  find  it  in  my  Bible,  and  it  is  not  for  me  to  object  or  to 
cavil.  God  knows  what  every  sin  deserves.  He  will 
punish  as  little  as  he  can,  consistently  with  his  right 
eousness.  How  essential  to  complete  happiness,  that  it 
should  be  everlasting.  How  would  it  be  damped  by 
the  apprehension  that  it  might  cease.  The  smallest 
evil,  if  it  is  to  last  for  ever,  how  terrible !  No  misery 
can  be  complete  that  is  not  endless.  But  this,  more- 
over, is  unmitigated.  Not  a  drop  of  cold  water  could 
the. rich  man  have  to  cool  his  burning  tongue.  Here, 
one  may  sometimes  forget  even  a  heavy  sorrow ;  but 
in  the  world  of  darkness,  no  exciting  amusements,  no 
witty  friend,  no  agreeable  occupation,  no  oblivious 
slumbers,  can  recreate  or  divert  the  mind  from  the 
agony  which  consumes  it,  and  yet  leaves  it  uncon- 
sumed.  No  relief  to  that'  aching  heart,  not  even  the 
poor  one  of  hearing  the  clock  strike  the  long  hours 
of  eternity." 

But  more  and  more,  with  passing  years,  she  turned 
the  thoughts  of  pupils  and  teachers  to  the  glories  of 
the  heavenly  state.  She  had  frequent  foretastes  of  its 
blessedness,  and  invited  all  to  partake  with  her  of  the 
hidden  manna.  Many  who  sat  under  her  instruction 
and  gave  themselves  up  to  the  invisible  pictures  with 


LEADING  PRINCIPLES.  241 

which  she  could  fill  their  minds,  treasure  that  sweet 
school-day  experience  as  a  precious  antepast  of  heav- 
en. They  were  solemnly  and  delightfully  absorbed 
in  the  sense  of  a  personal  and  a  present  God,  and  of 
their  individual  responsibility.  It  was  like  the  com- 
munion of  the  closet.  Every  soul  in  the  assembly  was 
alone  with  God.  No  one  took  thought  of  her  neigh- 
bor. Passion,  pride,  and  petulance,  seemed  for  the 
time  dead  and  buried.  When  called  again  to  engage 
in  secular  duties,  it  was  as  if  they  had  been  out  of  the 
body  into  the  invisible  world,  on  a  visit  from  which 
they  were  reluctantly  returning. 

When,  in  the  course  of  the  morning  instruction, 
the  solemn  look  and  the  suppressed  sigh  of  the  uncon- 
verted indicated  a  work  of  the  Spirit  in  their  minds, 
a  meeting  would  be  appointed  for  those  who  desired 
instruction  in  the  way  of  salvation.  Frequently  each 
anxious  one  would  go  alone  to  the  place  designated, 
neither  knowing  nor  asking  whether  any  of  her  com- 
panions needed  or  sought  the  same  light  and  guidance ; 
and  great  was  often  the  surprise  when  room-mate  met 
room-mate,  and  friend  met  friend  in  that  consecrated 
room. 

Without  the  other  means  of  grace,  the  morning 
lecture  would  have  been  but  a  brilliant  coruscation, 
light  without  heat;  with  them,  it  was  as  the  sun, 
through  whose  heat,  added  to  its  light,  God  quickens 
the  buried  seed  into  life  and  fruitfulness.  Or  it  was 
the  top-stone  of  the  arch,  without  which  the  piers  and 
abutments  had  been  useless  and  vain.  It  was  Miss 
Lyon's  faith  and  life  that  gave  such  indescribable 
power  to  her  words.    The  truth  she  uttered  had  in 

Marjr  Lyon.  1 1 


242  LIFE  OP  MART  LYON. 

her  a  living  representation  so  simple,  so  lovely,  and  so 
majestic,  as  to  attract  and  awe  the  youthful  mind. 

Miss  Lyon  held  a  weekly  meeting  with  the  pro- 
fessors of  religion.  Her  addresses  to  them  were  after 
the  general  style  of  her  morning  lectures,  but  adapted 
more  particularly  to  comfort,  instruct,  and  confirm 
believers.  She  had  also  a  meeting  every  Sabbath  for 
those  who  were  destitute  of  the  Christian  hope,  in 
which  she  sought  to  unfold  to  them  their  true  state 
and  prospects,  their  sins  and  their  duty.  At  the  same 
hour,  the  rest  of  the  school  met  in  circles  with  the 
teachers  for  prayer  and  conference.  As  the  general 
result  of  these  means,  few  left  the  school  without  the 
hope  of  the  Christian.  The  history  of  the  school,  as 
will  appear  in  the  next  chapter,  was  a  history  of  the 
effusions  of  the  Spirit.  The  harvests  came  almost  as 
regularly  as  in  husbandry.  He  who  appointed  the 
means  blessed  their  faithful  use.  What  God  has 
joined  together,  let  not  man  put  asunder. 


RELIGIOUS  HISTORY.  243 


CHAPTER  X. 

EELIGIOUS  HISTORY   OF   THE  SEMINARY— THE  MIS. 
SIONARY  SPIRIT. 

We  have  seen  that  the  religious  character  of  the 
schools  with  which  Miss  Lyon  had  been  connected 
before  coming  to  South  Hadlej,  was  the  trait  that 
had  endeared  them  most  to  religious  men.  They 
looked,  therefore,  with  deep  interest  to  the  Holyoke 
Seminary,  to  learn  whether  a  high  tone  of  piety 
would  be  there  also  associated  with  a  high  literary 
standard."  So  commonly  had  they  been  disjoined, 
that  it  was  a  question  whether  their  union  were  prac- 
ticable. During  the  first  year,  amid  the  distractions 
and  exciting  novelties  incident  to  starting  a  com- 
plex system  of  education,  there  was  scarcely  room 
for  that  calm  reflection,  and  that  deep  and  thorough 
self-examination  which  are  essential  to  genuine  revi- 
vals of  religion.  Moreover,  the  number  of  pupils  des- 
titute of  the  Christian's  hope  the  first  year  was  very 
small,  not  more  than  one  in  eight  or  ten.  But  in 
every  subsequent  year  to  the  present,  there  have  been 
witnessed  in  the  school  long-continued  seasons  of 
special  interest  in  personal  religion.  Most  of  these 
works  of  divine  grace  have  had  a  thoroughness  and 
extent  almost  unheard  of  in  the  modern  history  of  the 
church.  We  have  a  brief  summary  of  these  revivals 
for  the  first  nine  years  of  the  institution,  from  the  pen 
of  Miss  Mary  C.  Whitman,  who  was  connected  with 
it  almost  from  its  commencement;  first  as  a  pupil, 


244  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

then  as  a  teacher,  an  associate  principal,  and  finally 
as  principal ;  and  whose  whole  soul  was  as  intensely 
devoted  to  the  school  as  that  of  its  founder  ;  so  much 
devoted,  indeed,  that  nature  gave  way  under  labors 
too  severe  and  unremitted.  Miss  Whitman's  letter 
on  this  subject  was  written  at  the  request  of  Dr. 
Hitchcock  in  1846. 

"The  school  has  been  in  operation  nine  years, 
and  each  year  since  its  commencement  there  has  been 
decided  religious  interest,  unless  we  except  the  first 
and  the  eighth — several  times  amounting  to  a  deep 
and  extensive  work  of  grace.  Among  the  pupils  of 
the  first  year,  there  were  but  ten  or  twelve  who  were 
not  hopefully  pious ;  and  although  there  was  a  gen- 
eral consistency  of  character  and  deportment,  and 
great  zeal  in  building  up  the  new  institution,  there 
was  no  marked  religious  interest. 

"The  second  year,  the  number  regarding  them- 
selves as  unconverted  was  about  thirty.  During 
that  year  God  manifested  his  acceptance  of  the  con- 
secrated institution,  not  by  a  visible  cloud,  but  by  a 

I  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  work  was  very 
rapid,  and  advanced  with  great  power.  It  occurred 
in  connection  with  the  fast  for  literary  institutions. 
The  whole  school  bowed  beneath  its  influence.    The 

J  breathings  of  the  Spirit  were  felt  in  every  heart. 
The  lukewarm  professor  and  the  openly  irreligious 
alike  trembled  for  their  personal  safety.  The  light 
footstep,  the  hushed  voice,  and  the  solemn  counte- 
nance indicated  the  thoughts  of  all  hearts.  Many  a 
slumbering  professor  awoke  to  newness  of  life.  Dur- 
ing the  three  days  succeeding  the  last  Thursday  of 


RELIGIOUS  HISTORY.  245 

February,  which  had  been  sacredly  observed  by  the 
teachers  and  scholars  as  a  season  of  fasting  and 
prayer,  about  one  half  of  the  impenitent  indulged  the 
hope  of  having  passed  from  death  unto  life. 

"  Saturday  of  the  same  week  was  a  day  of  recrea» 
tion.  In  the  afternoon  nearly  the  whole  school  with 
one  accord  came  together,  filling  to  its  utmost  capac- 
ity the  reading-room,  where  the  meeting  was  held. 
After  continuous  prayer  for  an  hour,  the  meeting  was 
appropriately  closed  by  one  of  the  teachers.  No  one 
rose  to  leave  the  room.  The  feeling  pervaded  the 
circle  that  prayer  must  be  continued  until  every  soul 
was  converted.  Another  prayer  was  then  offered, 
after  which  the  same  teacher  proposed  that  they 
should  all  retire  to  their  rooms  for  half  an  hour,  and 
then  those  who  desired  should  meet  again  in  the 
same  place.  At  the  end  of  the  half  hour  the  burdened 
souls  came  together  to  plead  once  more  for  their  com- 
panions who  were  still  out  of  Christ.  But  one,  that 
year,  remained  destitute  of  the  Christian  hope.  Many 
were  the  prayers  offered  for  that  halting  one,  and  in 
after-years  it  was  found  that  praying  breath  had  not 
been  spent  in  vain.  She  has  since  died  in  a  peaceful 
hope  of  divine  acceptance,  referring  its  origin  to  that 
second  year  of  the  Holyoke  seminary. 

"  Thus  did  this  young  seminary  receive  its  baptism 
of  the  Spirit.  Thus  did  God  condescend  to  manifest  ' , 
his  acceptance  of  the  offering.  Thus  did  he  receive  as  '  ' 
his  own  the  seminary  which  had  been  privately  and 
publicly  consecrated  to  him  by  the  donors,  the  trus- 
tees, and  most  of  all,  by  her  who,  standing  at  its  head, 
was  often  heard  earnestly  pleading,  that  not  one  of 


246  LIFE  OF  MISS  LYON. 

all  who  should  enjoy  its  privileges  down  to  the  dawn 
of  the  millennial  day,  should  fail  of  eternal  life. 

"  This  revival  gave  the  school  that  religious  char- 
acter which  its  founders  desired.  Its  cfifects  were 
felt  for  several  successive  years,  but  especially  in  the 
next,  which  was  the  third  in  the  history  of  the  semi- 
nary. That  year  all  indxdged  the  Christian  hope.  The 
work  was  gradual,  and  there  was  a  continued  interest 
from  the  first  week  of  the  school  till  the  close  of  the 
year.  The  presence  of  the  Spirit  was  manifested 
from  the  first,  by  attention  to  instruction,  the  tearful 
eye,  and  exhibition  of  tenderness  of  feeling  whenever 
the  subject  of  personal  religion  was  introduced.  The 
number  of  cases  of  hopeful  conversion  this  year  was 
nearly  the  same  as  the  preceding,  or  about  thirty. 
The  fourth  year  the  religious  interest  still  continued, 
somewhat  diminished  in  its  power,  yet  manifest 
through  the  year.  Christians  were  not  so  generally 
and  deeply  affected  as  at  some  former  times,  yet 
there  was  an  interesting  growth  and  maturing  of 
Christian  character  ;  six  or  eight  only  remained,  at 
the  close  of  the  year,  without  hope.  The  fifth  year 
our  building  was  enlarged,  and  our  numbers  greatly 
increased.  There  were  in  many  cases  a  decided  and 
interesting  development  and  settling  of  religious 
principle,  and  also  several  cases  of  hopeful  conver- 
sion of  an  unusually  marked  character.  The  number 
expressing  hope  was  perhaps  about  seventeen,  being 
nearly  half  who  entered  without  hope. 

"  The  following  year,  the  sixth,  was  one  rich  in 
blessing.  A  more  careful  division  of  responsibility 
and  labor  among  the  teachers  was  made,  and  from 


RELIGIOUS  HISTORY.  241 

the  commencement  of  the  year  there  was  an  increased 
personal  effort  in  relation  to  every  member  of  the 
family.  God  crowned  these  efforts  with  abundant 
success.  From  the  first  there  was  an  attentive  lis- 
tening to  instruction,  and  truth  seemed  to  be  taking 
a  deep  hold  of  the  understanding  and  conscience. 
But  it  was  not  till  March  that  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
came  upon  us  with  great  power,  and  at  once  a  large 
number  stood  up  on  the  Lord's  side,  having  received 
the  breath  of  life.  The  work  was  sudden,  rapid,  and 
powerful.  We  could  only  stand  still  and  see  the  sal- 
vation of  God.  Some  cases  of  conversion  were  of  a  ' 
very  marked  character,  and  of  great  interest.  Of 
the  sixty-six  who  entered  the  school  without  hope, 
only  six  remained  destitute  of  it.  The  missionary 
interest  this  year  received  a  new  impulse  by  the 
departure  of  Miss  Fisk,  one  of  our  teachers,  on  a  for- 
eign mission,  and  there  was  an  increase  in  the  mis- 
sionary contributions.  During  the  seventh  year, 
there  were  about  thirty  cases  of  hopeful  conversion, 
but  no  powerful  and  general  work. 

"  The  last  year,  the  eighth,  there  were  very  few 
cases  of  hopeful  conversion,  and  very  many  passed 
through  the  whole  year  apparently  without  receiving 
any  religious  impression.  The  present  year  has  thus 
far  been  one  of  greater  blessing.  Very  soon  after 
its  commencement,  there  appeared  cases  of  marked 
interest,  and  generally  an  unusual  tenderness  on  the 
subject  of  religion.  Through  the  whole  of  the  first 
term  there  was  a  gathering  of  interest,  which,  tow- 
ards its  close,  appeared  to  promise  a  return  of  the 
scenes  of  former  years.    The  vacation  dispersed  our 


348  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

family,  and  since  the  commencement  of  the  present 
term  the  state  of  feeling  has  not  reached  the  point 
■which  seemed  to  be  gained  before  vacation.  During 
the  last  term  there  were  about  twenty  cases  of  hope- 
ful conversion,  and  a  number  have  occurred  the  pres- 
ent term.  In  all  cases  where  there  was  any  depth  of 
interest  the  last  term,  it  has  continued  till  the  pres- 
ent time,  and  some  have  resulted  in  hope.  The  indi- 
cations of  a  gradual  and  protracted  work  of  grace, 
are  perhaps  now  more  encouraging  tlftin  at  any  pre- 
vious time  this  term." 

-  Nearly  eleven  years  have  elapsed  since  the  above 
account  was  written,  and  all  of  them  have  left  a 
similar  testimony  to  the  special  converting  influences 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  the  institution.  The  number 
apparently  converted  in  1850,  was  between  forty  and 
fifty.  This  work  occurred  after  the  death  of  Miss 
Lyon.  Every  succeeding  year  has  told  the  same 
story,  so  joyful  to  the  Christian's  heart.  It  shows 
that  Miss  Lyon's  presence  was  not  necessary  to 
secure  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Yet  so  far  as  means  are  concerned,  doubtless  the 
system  which  she  adopted,  her  prayers  of  faith,  and 
the  example  of  fidelity  which  she  left,  have  still  a 
most  important  influence.  May  we  not  hope  that 
that  influence  will  be  identified  with  the  institution 
as  long  as  it  stands  ? 

Some  would  imagine,  from  this  account,  that  to 
secure  such  an  trtmost  uninterrupted  series  of  spirit- 
ual blessings,  extraordinary  means  must  have  been 
employed.    But  nothing  of  this  kind  has  ever  been 


RELIGIOUS  HISTORY.  249 

done.  A  person  might  live  for  weeks  in  the  semina- 
ry, during  one  of"  these  revivals,  and  yet  see  nothing 
unusual,  save  a  deep  solemnity  and  tenderness  dur- 
ing religious  exercises.  Those  exercises  would  not 
be  much  multiplied,  nor  would  the  literary  exercises 
be  suspended  or  diminished,  unless  in  individual  cases 
of  deep  seriousness.  Both  teachers  and  pupils  would 
seem  to  be  deeply  engrossed  in  their  studies,  and 
would  be  in  fact,  during  the  hours  appropriated  to 
study.  Nor  would  the  subject  of  religion  be  obtrud- 
ed upon  the  visitor,  or  introduced,  unless  he  mani- 
fested an  unusual  interest  in  the  state  of  the  school ; 
and  then  would  he  find,  what  he  hardly  suspected 
before,  that  in  the  hearts  of  those  teachers  and  pious 
pupils  there  was  a  deep  fountain  of  religious  feeling, 
that  was  ready  to  gush  forth  and  overflow  if  the 
channel  was  once  opened.  He  would  learn  thaj  in 
their  closets,  in  their  fidelity  to  their  pupils  and  com- 
panions, and  in  the  assiduous  presentation  of  Bible 
truth,  lay  the  secret  of  the  means  blessed  in  such  a 
constant  descent  of  divine  influence. 

It  is  well  known  to  the  Christian  familiar  with 
revivals  in  our  churches,  that  such  a  work  is  not  to 
be  expected  without  a  previous  season  of  deep  humili- 
ation, anxiety,  and  prayer,  on  the  part  of  ministers 
and  private  Christians.  But  so  often  had  the  outward 
signs  of  any  special  religious  interest  been  wanting, 
when  there  were  many  anxious  inquirers  in  this  sem- 
inary ;  so  calm  and  cheerful  did  the  principal  and  her 
band  of  teachers  appear,  and  so  much  interested  in 
literary  and  secular  objects,  that  the  question  might 
arise  whether  here  were  not  an  exception  to  this 

11* 


250  LIFE  OF  MART  LYON. 

almost  universal  experience  of  the  church.  But  a  re- 
view of  Miss  Lyon's  correspondence  shows  that  the 
suggestion  is  entirely  unfounded.  Not  a  revival  has 
ever  occurred  in  this  seminary,  nay,  probably  not  a 
single  conversion  has  taken  place  there,  which  was 
not  preceded  by  deep  humiliation  and  agonizing  pray- 
er on  the  part  of  teachers  or  pious  pupils.  The  let- 
ters already  given  show  this  in  respect  to  the  other 
schools  in  which  Miss  Lyon  was  engaged,  and  those 
that  follow  are  no  less  instructive  on  this  point. 

The  readers  of  this  memoir  ought  to  understand 
that  probably  Miss  Lyon  never  had  the  thought  pass 
through  her  mind  that  one  of  the  letters  given  in  this 
work  would  ever  be  published.  They  are  obviously 
the  honest,  unsophisticated  outpourings  of  her  heart, 
for  the  most  part  into  the  hearts  of  personal  friends, 
and  give  us  the  true  and  exact  state  of  her  own  feel- 
ings and  views. 

One  of  the  most  frequent  modes  in  which  Miss 
Lyon  manifested  a  deeper  interest  than  usual — such 
an  interest  as  Christians  very  well  know  usually  pre- 
cedes a  revival — in  the  religious  state  of  the  school, 
is  a  confession  of  spiritual  stupidity,  and  a  request  to 
Christian  friends  that  they  would  ofifer  special  prayer 
in  behalf  of  the  school  or  of  individuals.  She  was 
no  believer  in  the  frigid  doctrine  which  self-styled 
philosophy  would  impose  upon  us,  that  prayer  is  of 
no  use  to  move  God,  but  only  to  move  ourselves. 
She  believed  that  God  is  influenced  as  really  by  the 
prayer  of  faith  as  any  earthly  friend.  Hence  she  felt 
that  by  multiplying  petitions  for  great  blessings,  an 
answer  might  be  more  surely  expected.    She  probably 


RELIGIOUS  HISTORY.  251 

had  but  few  friends  to  whom  she  appealed  for  such 
aid.  But  they  were  individuals  in  whose  ardent  piety 
she  felt  the  fullest  confidence.  One  of  them  was  her 
mother,  as  we  have  seen  at  an  earlier  date.  We  find 
more  letters  of  Miss  Lyon  respecting  the  revival  of 
1843,  than  of  any  other  similar  work  of  grace.  That 
she  had  similar  feelings,  and  made  similar  efforts  at 
other  times,  cannot  be  doubted.  It  is  cause  for  grat- 
itude that  we  have  the  history  of  her  own  mind  so 
fully  in  respect  to  that  powerful  work. 

To   Mrs.   Banister. 

"  Sooth  Hadlky,  March  8, 1843. 
"I  have  been  absent  a  short  time,  and  on  my 
return  yesterday  found  your  two  letters.  You  ask 
about  the  spiritual  interests  of  our  school.  I  was, 
just  thinking  of  writing  to  you  on  this  very  subject, 
that  I  might  beseech  your  prayers  at  this  time,  for  it 
is  one  of  great  darkness,  of  anxiety,  of  hope,  of  fear. 
In  temporal  things  we  have  been  greatly  blessed. 
We  have  a  much  greater  supply  of  teachers  than  usual. 
Misses  Moore  and  Whitman  have  applied  their  minds 
closely  to  reducing  every  thing  under  their  control 
to  the  most  beautiful  order  and  symmetry,  and  with 
great  success.  Our  young  ladies  are  very  youthful, 
more  and  more  so  every  year  ;  but  there  is  so  much 
docility,  such  a  sweet  atmosphere  all  around,  that  I 
feel,  from  day  to  day,  that  our  home  is  a  sweet  home. 
There  is  more  missionary  interest  than  usual,  and 
more  desire  in  some  Christians  to  be  prepared  for 
the  service  of  God.  But,  alas,  one  thing  is  lack- 
ing— the  direct  and  powerful  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.    A  few  gentle  drops  have  descended,  but  we 


252  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

have  enjoyed  no  plentiful  shower,  and  this  we  greatly 
Deed.  According  to  all  former  experience,  the  har- 
vest-time for  this  year  will  be  past  in  four  or  five 
weeks.  Then  will  come  the  finishing  up  of  the  term, 
and  the  spring  examinations.  After  that  will  follow 
the  short  summer  term,  a  most  favorable  time  for 
fixing  last  impressions,  for  attempting  to  lead  Chris- 
tians into  green  and  living  pastures,  but  not  a  favor- 
able time  for  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  break- 
ing up  the  fallow  ground  by  conviction  and  conver- 
sion. Nearly  sixty  of  our  number  are  without  hope. 
As  teachers,  as  Christians,  as  an  institution,  we 
greatly  need  the  eflfects  of  a  powerful  revival.  I  fear 
to  make  any  extra  effort ;  I  fear  to  omit  it.  I  know 
not  what  to  do.  The  way  seems  greatly  hedged  up. 
I  fear  to  go  forward  ;  I  dare  not  stand  still ;  I  can- 
not go  back. 

"  I  went  to  Boston  to  help  fit  off  one  of  our  teach- 
ers as  a  missionary  to  the  Nestorians.  I  made  ar- 
rangements to  be  absent  a  few  days  longer,  that  I 
might  have  time  to  look  over  our  sad,  very  sad  state, 
and  that  I  might  inquire  of  the  Lord  for  a  right  path 
in  which  to  walk.  I  wanted  exceedingly  to  go  to 
Newburyport,  and  also  to  Monson  ;  but  I  thought  it 
my  duty  to  stay  in  one  place,  to  make  no  calls,  to  do 
but  a  little  business,  and  only  attend  meetings  as  I 
could.  I  have  seldom  had  so  profitable  a  week,  when 
I  have  had  so  much  physical  and  mental  rest,  and  so 
much,  as  I  humbly  hope,  of  spiritual  refreshing.  I 
have  been  greatly  interested  in  examining  the  subject 
of  prayer.  Since  I  returned,  a  few  more  drops  have 
fallen.    But  how  so  great  a  work  can  be  done  in  so 


RELIGIOUS  HISTORY.  253 

short  a  time  I  know  not.  All  is  yet  darkness,  but  I 
hope  and  trust  that  light  will  shine  out  of  darkness. 
Now  I  have  one  urgent  request  to  make  of  you.  It 
is,  that  you  would  set  apart  a  little  time  every  day  to 
pray  in  sincerity  and  in  truth  for  us.  Pray  that  God 
would,  in  his  own  way,  do  a  great  work  here,  and 
give  us  a  great  blessing  ;  pray  that  we  may  be  -taught 
what  the  Lord  would  have  us  do.  Will  you  thus  pray 
every  day  till  you  hear  from  us  again,  which  shall  be 
soon  ?  For  a  few  days,  I  design  to  study  daily  two 
passages  of  Scripture,  praying  that  I  may  be  led  by 
the  Spirit  to  receive  into  the  understanding  and  heart 
just  what  the  Holy  Ghost  has  revealed  in  these  won- 
derful passages,  Luke  11 : 5-13 ;  James  1 : 5-8.  Would 
you  like  to  study  these  daily  with  me,  as  you  pray  for 
us?" 

What  a  different  meaning  did  Miss  Lyon  attach 
to  the  word  rest  from  what  is  generally  understood. 
Her  views  must  have  approximated  to  what  the  Bible 
calls  rest  in  heaven,  namely,  a  state  of  intense  activity 
in  the  service  of  God. 

The  next  day,  March  9th,  she  writes  to  Mrs.  Saf- 
ford  of  Boston : 

"  As  I  have  a  little  business  on  which  I  must  write 
this  morning,  I  will  take  this  opportunity  to  say  a  few 
things  on  the  subject  so  near  my  heart.  On  my  return, 
I  found  things  in  some  respects  a  little  more  favorable 
than  when  I  left.  The  general  seriousness  has  in- 
creased somewhat,  and  considerably  in  one  small  sec- 
tion under  the  care  of  one  teacher.  The  teachers  have 
had  some  increase  of  interest,  and  are  making  some 


254  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

new  efforts  in  their  sections.  Among  those  who  liave 
most  heart  for  such  a  work,  there  is  a  growing  con- 
viction of  the  great  need  of  a  thorough,  powerful 
revival,  to  break  up  the  fallow  ground,  to  give  a  new 
current  to  thought  and  feeling  among  the  younger  and 
least  experienced  Christians,  among  the  coldest,  most 
lukewarm,  and  most  backward  professors,  and  among 
some  who  stand  on  middle  ground.  Thursday  morn- 
ing is  one  of  the  three  mornings  in  the  week  when  I 
reserve  a  half  hour  for  religious  instruction  and  devo- 
tional exercises.  I  have  just  met  the  pupils  in  the 
hall.  I  took  occasion  to  spread  out  before  them  our 
present  position,  with  our  necessity,  our  danger,  our 
fear,  and  our  hope,  mingling  all  along  my  own  feel- 
ings, my  own  solemn  convictions  of  the  urgency  of 
the  case.  I  stated  my  own  views,  that  something 
must  be  done,  though  entire  darkness  was  spread  over 
the  path  of  duty.  I  told  them  that  a  little  while  ago 
I  came  to  them  to  ask  of  them  a  missionary.  I  would 
not  go  from  one  to  another,  lest  I  should  not  find  the 
best.  And  the  Lord  so  stirred  up  the  willing  hearts, 
that  we  all  believed  that  we  had  sent  the  one  whom 
he  had  called  and  qualified  for  the  work.  And  now 
I  came  to  ask  for  a  willing  heart  to  unite  with  mo 
in  prayer  for  this  great  thing,  as  this  seemed  our 
last  refuge.  The  scene  was  very  interesting  to  my 
feelings,  llow  I  should  have  loved  to  have  you  with 
us,  to  mingle  in  our  sympathies  and  prayers.  There 
was  a  very  tender  spirit  this  morning,  an  atmosphere 
in  which  it  was  very  easy  to  breathe,  and  to  speak 
too.  Probably  little  circumstances  might  have  some 
effect.     It  is  so  seldom  that  I  leave  this  beloved 


RELIGIOUS  HISTORY.  255 

household  for  a  single  day,  that  my  meeting  them 
after  an  absence  of  only  a  week  and  a  half  is  suited 
to  awaken  some  tender  emotions  on  both  sides.  Such 
things  are  the  veriest  trifles  in  themselves ;  but  my 
sentiment  is,  that  the  most  trifling  circumstances 
should  be  used  for  the  same  great  end.  With  regard 
to  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  impenitent,  all  is  dark.  But 
amid  the  darkness,  and  with  a  burden  on  my  heart 
which  I  cannot  describe,  there  is  something  in  my 
soul  which  seems  like  trust  in  God,  that  is  like  a 
peaceM  river,  overflowing  all  its  banks.  Light  can 
shine  out  of  darkness,  and  I  have  great  hope  that  we 
shall  receive  a  blessing,  whether  or  not  the  provi- 
dence of  God  shall  permit  Mr.  Kirk  to  come  and 
share  with  us  in  our  labors,  our  joys,  and  our  sor- 
rows. 

"  I  have  an  increasing  sense  of  the  importance  of 
a  work  of  the  Spirit,  a  universal  work,  one  which 
shall  reach  our  whole  church  of  more  than  one  hun- 
dred, all  young.  You  recollect  Mr.  Kirk's  vivid 
description  of  the  difference  between  passing  through 
the  deep  valley  and  rising  up  into  a  revival,  and  leap- 
ing immediately  into  the  sympathies  of  a  revival.  We 
need  experience  of  the  first  kind  to  fit  us  for  the 
varied  and  important  remaining  duties  of  the  year. 
On  this  account,  I  have  some  query  whether  it  may 
not  be  better  that  Mr.  Kirk's  visit  should  be  deferred 
a  little  longer.  If  he  could  stay  two  or  three  full 
weeks,  I  would  as  soon  that  he  would  come  to-day 
as  ever.  But  if  he  can  stay  but  one  week,  and  pos- 
sibly even  less,  it  is  very  important  that  he  come 
at  the  right  time,  and  expend  his  power  in  the  best 


266  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

way.  His  fear  that  he  could  not  stay  long  enough  is 
my  great  fear.  It  seems  to  me  like  a  very  desirable 
thing  that  certain  minds,  certain  difficult  cases,  should 
come  under  the  influence  of  a  powerful  mind  and 
warm  heart  like  Mr.  Kirk's,  and  we  all  need  some 
stirring  means  ;  but  my  own  will  has  ever  been  gra- 
ciously kept  in  an  even  balance  concerning  this  thing. 
I  am  prepared  to  rejoice  or  to  acquiesce  as  soon  as 
the  will  of  the  Lord  shall  be  made  known. 

"  Now,  whatever  may  be  in  relation  to  these 
things,  let  me  ask  and  beseech  you  three,  [Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Saflford,  and  Mr.  Kirk,]  my  dear  sympathizing 
friends,  to  grant  me  one  petition.  Will  you  every 
day  ofifer  a  short  prayer  on  our  behalf,  which  shall 
arise  from  your  inmost  heart,  till  you  hear  from  me 
again,  which  shall  be  soon?  Only  ask  God  our 
heavenly  Father,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  our  blessed 
Redeemer,  and  you  shall  have  your  request." 

From   Mits   Whitman   to   Mrs.   Safford. 

"  South  Hadley,  March  16, 1843. 
"  My  dear  Mrs.  Safford — Miss  Lyon  requests  me 
to  write  a  few  lines,  just  to  tell  you  the  reason  why 
she  has  not  written,  and  to  ask  a  continuance  of  your 
prayers  for  us.  She  is  now  quite  unwell  with  a  cold, 
and  thinks  it  her  duty  to  reserve  her  strength  for  the 
religious  exercises  of  the  school.  To-day  she  is  per- 
haps rather  better  than  yesterday,  yet  I  have  some 
fears  that  she  will  have  a  fever.  The  physician  was 
yesterday  somewhat  apprehensive  of  a  lung  fever. 
Should  she  remain  entirely  quiet,  it  would  undoubt- 
edly do  much  towards  a  restoration ;  but  as  the  pros- 


RELIGIOUS  HISTORY.  257 

ent  religious  state  of  the  school  is,  this  seems  very 
difficult.  You  will  perhaps  recollect  that  Miss  Lyon 
•was  absent  three  Sabbaths,  previous  to  her  return  from 
Boston.  She  found,  on  her  return,  that  there  had 
been  considerable  increase  of  feeling,  and  a  state  of 
apparent  preparation  for  the  reception  of  truth,  which 
was  not  so  manifest  when  she  left.  By  all  the  indica- 
tions it  appears  that  we  are  approaching  a  very  im- 
portant crisis.  There  seems  to  be  an  increase  of  the 
spirit  of  prayer,  and  of  desire  for  spiritual  blessings, 
on  the  part  of  Christians ;  and  among  those  who  are 
yet  impenitent,  there  is  not  perhaps  one  who  is  not 
more  or  less  affected,  and  some  are  deeply  impressed. 
The  solemn  countenance  and  tearful  eye  whenever 
the  subject  is  personally  introduced,  show  that  the 
Spirit  is  operating.  We  feel  very  much  the  need  of 
fervent,  importunate  prayer  to  bring  us  the  rich  bless- 
ing which  seems  so  near  to  us,  and  which  appears  to 
be  delayed  only  for  us  to  seek  it.  Our  meetings  this 
week  have  been  increased.  The  regular  recess  meet- 
►  ings  are  very  promptly  attended.  These  have  been 
occasionally  lengthened,  and  a  daily  sectional  meet- 
ing of  half  an  hour  has  been  added  from  the  recrea- 
tion hours,  the  time  usually  devoted  to  reading. 
In  some  members  of  our  sections  there  seems  to  be 
quite  a  revival  spirit.  As  teachers,  we  feel  that  we 
very  much  need  the  prayers  of  our  friends,  that  wfi. 
may  be  prepared,  by  the  reception  of  a  large  meas- 
ure of  the  Spirit,  to  be  leaders  of  the  flock.  As  teach- 
ers, may  I  not  ask  a  special  remembrance  in  your 
prayers  ?  Our  need  is  great,  and  very  pressing.  Since 
her  return,  Miss  Lyon  has  been  giving  some  connected 


258  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

instruction  upon  the  subject  of  prayer.  It  will  indeed 
be  a  mysterious  providence  should  she  now  be  unable 
to  speak  to  us." 

Miss  Lyon  to  Mr.   Safford. 

"  Friday  Morning,  March  17,  1843. 

"Deab  Sir — The  present  state  of  our  school  is 
exceedingly  critical.  May  you  have  a  mind  and  a 
heart  to  pray  for  us.  The  testimony  from  every 
source — from  the  teachers,  from  the  prayer-meetings, 
from  meetings  for  the  impenitent,  from  individual 
conversation  with  Christians  and  with  the  impeni- 
tent— is  all  the  same,  proving  beyond  doubt  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  is  moving  with  a  gentle  influence  on  the 
face  of  the  waters.  Still  there  is  not  that  point  and 
decision  which  must  bo  attained,  or  we  shall  fail  of 
the  blessing.  The  great  and  distressing  doubt  which 
rested  on  my  mind  about  using  any  extra  means  myself 
has,  in  the  providence  of  God,  been  somewhat  remov- 
ed. That  interesting  state  of  feeling  on  many  things, 
such  as  missions,  the  general  path  of  duty,  etc.,  seems 
now  changing  to  an  increasing  desire  for  the  direct' 
and  special  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Our  regu- 
lar business  goes  forward  just  as  usual,  but  many  have 
been  looking  up  their  leisure  time  for  religion.  The 
teachers  are  most  of  them  very  much  engaged  in  gath- 
ering up  the  fragments  of  time,  that  nothing  be  lost. 
I  have  had  a  short  extra  meeting  for  the  impenitent 
every  day.  I  have  been  able  to  meet  all  my  appoint- 
ments, though  sometimes  I  have  concentrated  all  the 
strength  of  three  or  four  hours  into  half  an  hour. 
Every  thing  I  do  is  such  a  privilege.  It  is  such  a 
privilege,  too,  to  depend  daily  and  hourly  for  light, 


RELIGIOUS  HISTORY.  259 

for  strength,  and  for  hope  on  our  heavenly  Father, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Redeemer. 

"It  is  so  difficult  for  me  to  stop  writing.  My 
heart  is  so  full.  But  I  fear  you  cannot  read  this.  K 
not,  let  it  go  as  of  no  great  importance." 

To  Mrs.  Banister. 

"  March  20,  1843. 

"  When  I  last  -wrote  to  you,  I  engaged  to  address 
you  again  very  soon.  I  have  been  very  sick  for  a 
week,  or  I  should  have  written  some  days  sooner. 

"  In  my  last,  I  requested  a  special  interest  in  your 
prayers  until  you  heard  from  us  again.  I  communi- 
cated also  something  respecting  our  religious  state. 
Just  at  that  time,  I  felt  that  we  were  in  a  very  trying, 
critical  condition.  I  had  been  absent  three  Sabbaths. 
After  spending  another  Sabbath  here,  and  becoming 
more  acquainted  with  the  state  of  things,  I  began  to 
feel, '  Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this  place,  and  I  knew  it 
not.'  In  all  seasons  of  religious  interest  in  this  house, 
the  Lord  has  ever  delighted  to  own  and  bless  the  holy 
Sabbath.  For  the  last  week  a  work  has  been  going 
forward  with  convincing  evidence  that  it  is  indeed 
the  work  of  the  Lord.  I  believe  I  told  you  in  my 
last  that  I  spent  a  few  days  in  Boston,  that  I  might 
have  quiet  and  time  to  look  over  our  condition,  and 
to  seek  the  right  way.  The  state  of  our  school  in  gen- 
eral has  been  unusually  encouraging  this  year.  There 
has  been  a  very  sweet  spirit,  a  pleasant  docility,  and 
a  consistent  deportment.  Our  evening  prayer-meet- 
ings have  been  like  a  connecting  artery  through  which 
the  lifeblood  flowed.  Our  semimonthly  missionary 
meeting  has  been  better  attended  than  ever  before, 


260  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

and  we  have  all  thought  that  the  missionary  spirit 
was  advancing  in  the  seminary.  This  spirit  seemed 
to  receive  an  impulse  by  Miss  Fisk's  leaving  us, 
and  devoting  herself  to  this  work.  I  have  thought 
we  seemed  preparing  for  every  thing  else  desirable, 
I  except  for  the  reception  of  the  special  influences  of 
[  the  Holy  Spirit.  To  this  there  seemed  some  great 
barrier.  This  was  the  great  thing  to  be  sought. 
'  This  we  needed  to  convict  and  convert  sinners,  to 
give  that  living  faith  in  the  great  atoning  sacrifice 
without  which  it  is  impossible  to  please  God.  This 
we  needed  to  overcome  the  world,  to  fix  our  hopes, 
to  establish  our  joys,  to  settle  for  ever  our  confidence. 
I  returned  from  Boston  not  knowing  whither  I  should 
be  led,  or  whether  there  was  any  thing  special  that 
could  be  done.  But  I  felt  a  trust,  and  a  reliance  on 
an  invisible  arm,  greater  and  sweeter  than  I  can  ever 
describe.  What  a  privilege  it  is  to  walk  by  faith. 
What  a  privilege  it  is  to  have  no  wisdom  of  our  own, 
to  have  no  plan  for  the  future,  that  the  wisdom  of 
God  may  be  more  manifest,  and  that  the  indications 
;  of  Providence  and  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit  day  by 
I  day  may  be  more  precious.  I  found,  on  my  return, 
that  a  spiritual  change  was  passing  over  the  face  of 
things,  that  the  Spirit  of  God  was  gently  moving  on 
the  face  of  the  waters.  The  teachers  I  found  more 
active  in  gathering  up  the  fragments  of  time  for  rclig- 
ous  duties  and  privileges  connected  with  those  under 
their  care.  Some  Christians  were  becoming  deeply 
interested.  Many  of  the  impenitent  were  in  an  inquir- 
ing state,  and  some  very  deeply  affected.  The  work 
appears  now  to  be  going  directly  forward.    Some 


RELIGIOUS  HISTORY.  261 

eight  or  ten  expressed  a  hope  at  different  times  along 
in  the  winter.  This  number  is  now  increased  prob- 
ably to  about  twenty-five.  We  are  passing  a  very 
important  time.  There  are  some  exceedingly  diflScult, 
dark  cases.  Some  have  passed  through  revival  after 
revival,  have  been  deeply  afi'ected,  indulged  a  hope 
once  or  twice,  have  made  one  effort  after  another, 
and  now,  as  they  suppose,  are  settled  down  in  a  state 
of  disconsolate  indifference.  May  the  Lord  give  you 
a  mind  and  heart  to  pray  for  us.  May  I  not  hear 
from  you  soon  ?  Let  me  have  a  page  from  your  own 
heart. 

"  I  should  love  to  write  you  a  long  letter  about 
my  own  personal  feelings.  Some  views  of  truth  have 
of  late  passed  before  my  mind  in  an  exceedingly  inter- 
esting manner  to  myself.  With  what  condescension 
does  God  come  down  in  the  simplicity  of  truth  to  our 
own  personal  wants.  Let  God  be  honored,  let  Christ 
be  all  in  all,  and  let  every  created  being  be  less  than 
nothing  and  vanity." 

To  Mrs.  Safford. 

"March  21,  1843. 
"  I  must  write  you  a  few  lines  this  morning,  though 
I  can  say  but  little.  I  want  to  ask  your  prayers 
especially  in  two  or  three  respects.  Respecting  our 
state  generally  I  have  little  to  say,  only  that  the  Lord 
is  doing  his  own  work  in  his  own  blessed  way.  The 
work  is  going  forward  apparently  with  great  rapid- 
ity, stillness,  universality,  gentleness,  and  power.  I 
believe  I  mentioned  about  sixty  who  entered  the 
school  without  hope.  I  should  have  excepted  some 
eight  or  ten,  as  the  fruits  of  the  drops  of  mercy  which 


262  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

have  been  falling  upon  us  from  month  to  month  dur- 
ing the  year.  I  suppose  now  not  less  than  one  half 
of  the  sixty  are  indulging  a  hope  of  pardoning  mer- 
cy through  the  blood  of  Christ.  A  large  number 
of  hopeful  conversions  have  occurred  in  three  days, 
including  the  Sabbath.  The  Sabbath  is  of  indescrib- 
able value  to  us.  There  can  be  no  community  to 
which  it  is  more  important.  In  times  of  revival,  it 
seems  always  to  be  the  day  that  God  delights  pecul- 
iarly to  honor.  At  other  times,  it  seems  to  be  worth 
more  than  all  other  days  in  bringing  the  thoughts 
into  captivity  to  the  will  of  Christ. 

"  You  will  ask  what  means  we  are  using.  They 
are  so  small  that  I  can  hardly  tell  what  they  are,  and 
yet  they  are  numerous,  simple,  and  through  the  infi- 
nite condescension  of  God,  they  seem  to  be  adapted 
to  our  state.  In  the  use  of  means,  we  simply  walk, 
day  by  day,  by  the  light  which  is  so  graciously  shed 
on  our  path.  We  cannot,  we  would  not  look  forward. 
Our  studies  go  forward  as  usual,  with  all  their  regu- 
larity, our  family  duties  with  all  their  accustomed 
order.  But  we  feel  that  we  can  and  ought  to  turn 
aside  from  other  sources  of  social  improvement  and 
eiyoyment,  that  all  the  fragments  of  time  may  be  gath- 
ered up  and  devoted  to  the  great  and  grand  business 
of  seeking  a  divine  blessing  to  descend  on  all  this 
family.  The  teachers  are  all  of  one  mind  and  one 
heart  in  this  thing.  We  use  our  fragments  of  time 
just  when  they  happen  to  come,  and  just  for  the  object 
for  which  they  seem  at  the  time  to  be  most  needed. 
The  prayer-meetings  are  sometimes  fifteen  minutes, 
BOmetimes  half  an  hour,  and  sometimes  longer,  accord- 


RELIGIOUS  HISTORY.  ~        263 

ing  to  circumstances.  Some  of  the  teachers  haye 
quite  a  prayer-meeting  in  fifteen  minutes  at  recess  in 
the  evening  with  their  sections.  They  adopted  the 
practice  in  these  little  daily  meetings,  long  ago,  of 
having  the  prayers  unsolicited.  This  turns  to  a  fa- 
vorable account  just  now.  Sometimes  they  find  time 
for  three  or  four  prayers  in  fifteen  minutes.  They 
can  return  to  their  duties  with  renewed  energy  and 
submission,  if  not  pleasure  in  their  studies.  The 
teachers  really  seem  to  be  emphatically  the  leaders 
of  the  flock.  In  the  meetings  for  the  impenitent  I 
have  no  very  definite  plan.  My  waiting  eyes  are  unto 
God.  From  day  to  day,  thus  far,  the  path  of  duty 
has  been  plain.  The  almost  Egyptian  darkness  which 
rested  on  my  mind  about  the  path  of  duty,  was  but  a 
contrast  to  that  light  which  shines  from  day  to  day. 
I  have  no  knowledge  of  futui-e  duty,  and  I  ask  for 
none.  It  is  so  sweet  to  carry  every  burden  and  every 
care  to  the  throne  of  everlasting  love,  in  perfect  con- 
fidence through  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  My  lungs 
have  not  allowed  me  the  privilege  of  individual  con- 
versation, but  the  teachers  and  others  are  instant  in 
season  and  out  of  season. 

"  But  my  sheet  is  full,  and  I  fear  the  mail  will  be 
gone,  and  I  have  not  told  my  errand.  First,  I  want 
you  should  pray  daily  and  unitedly  with  great  fer- 
vency for .  She  has  some  rather  peculiar  asso- 
ciations, as  I  suppose.  She  retains  her  hope,  but  some- 
thing in  her  character  revolts  from  every  thing  social 
in  feeling  or  action.  I  cannot  find  that  an  individual 
in  the  house  has  been  able  to  approach  her  success- 
fully in  the  least  degree  on  the  religion  of  her  heart 


264  LIFE  05  MARY  LYON. 

and  life.  Iliave  met  minds  in  a  similar  state,  and,  as 
a  matter  of  judgment  in  her  case,  have  avoided  meet- 
ing her  on  the  subject,  hoping  that  some  door  might 
be  opened  in  her  behalf  before  the  year  closes.  Many 
things  may  be  done  and  said  in  a  time  of  revival,  that 
cannot  be  done  and  said  at  any  other  time.  This  may 
be  the  favored  time  for  her.  I  have  approached  her 
gently,  and  hope  I  may  have  the  privilege  of  doing 
something  more.  I  think  it  not  best  that  she  should 
know  that  her  case  is  mentioned  between  us.  But 
I  hope  you  will  really  pray  in  her  behalf. 

"  We  have  some  individuals  that  seem  among  the 
most  hopeless.  They  are  among  the  righteous  tow- 
ards men.  They  have  passed  seasons  of  conviction, 
and  perhaps  indulged  hope  once  or  twice.  They  are 
clothed  now  in  the  self-righteousness  of  not  being  de- 
ceived this  time.     Do  pray  for  them. 

"  My  continued  desire  and  prayer  is,  that  this 
whole  family  as  a  family,  and  every  individual  as  an 
individual,  may  be  baptized  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  We 
are  witnessing  some  interesting  reconversions  among 
those  who  have  long  indulged  a  hope." 

"  South  Hadlet,  Saturday  Eve,  March  25,  1843. 
"My  dear  Mrs.  S afford — I  cannot  tell  you 
how  rejoiced  I  was  to  receive  your  letter.  I  had 
been  looking  and  longing  for  it.  I  knew  you  were 
praying  for  us,  but  I  wanted  to  have  you  tell  me  so. 
We  are  in  greater  need  than  ever  of  the  power  of 
prayer.  As  you  hear  from  us  from  time  to  time,  I 
trust  that  you  will  not  cease  to  give  thanks,  and  to 
pray  without  ceasing,  making  all  our  requests  known 


RELIGIOUS  HISTORY.  265 

to  God.  It  is  sweet  to  think  of  you  as  praying  in 
our  behalf,  if  you  cannot  come  and  see  us.  We  are 
on  the  verge  of  another  holy  Sabbath.  It  is  a  great 
event  for  us  to  pass  a  holy  Sabbath.  0  that  a  great, 
a  very  great  blessing  may  descend  upon  usl  The 
past  week  has  been  a  wonderful  time.  Of  those 
sixty  over  whom  I  mourned  so  much,  and  wept  so 
much,  and  prayed  so  much,  the  week  I  was  with  you, 
only  a  remnant  are  now  without  hope.  But  some 
very  trying  cases  are  left.  0  for  that  all-prevail- 
ing prayer  in  their  behalf  which  shall  be  heard! 
Several  professors  of  religion  have  given  up  their 
hope,  and  a  few  have  disclosed  the  fact  that  they 
have  had  no  hope  for  a  long  time.  Some  of  them  are 
now  walking  in  light,  and  others  are  shrouded  in 
thick  darkness.  But  the  Lord  has  wrought  for  us 
such  great  things,  that  we  can  but  trust  him  in  every 
time  of  need. 

"  Monday  morning.  We  have  decided  to  devote 
this  day  to  fasting  and  prayer.  It  is  the  first  day 
this  year  that  we  have  set  apart  to  seek  a  blessing 
on  ourselves  as  individuals,  and  on  our  family  as  a 
family.  It  is  a  great  and  solemn  thing  to  set  apari 
such  a  day.  It  is  a  great  thing  voluntarily  to  givo 
up  all  our  business  for  a  whole  day,  that  we  may  meet 
God  in  the  inner  sanctuary  of  his  holy,  spiritual  tem- 
ple. I  trust  this  day  is  brought  by  many  hearts  as  a 
willing  offering,  and  that  it  will  be  accepted  through 
the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant. 

"  I  have  many  things  which  I  want  to  write,  but  I 
cannot  now.  I  should  be  glad  to  tell  you  how  the 
Lord  has  led  us  along  by  his  own  right  hand.    I  should 

Mary  T.yoa.  1  2 


266  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

love  to  give  you  one  simple  page  from  my  own  soul. 
Do  write  very  soon." 

To  llrs.   Banister. 

"  April  13, 1843. 

I  "  I  hoped  I  should  have  quite  a  large  part  of  this 

sheet  to  tell  you  what  the  Lord  hath  wrought  for  us 
since  I  last  wrote  you.  I  believe,  just  at  the  time  that 
I  I  sent  my  last  letter,  a  cloud  of  mercy  was  gathering 
over  our  heads,  and  a  few  drops  had  fallen  upon  us. 
The  cloud  had  so  long  been  gathering,  and  so  gently, 
that  we  scarcely  knew  it ;  but  soon  the  windows  of 

I  heaven  were  opened,  and  the  blessing  descended,  so 
that  there  was  scarcely  room  in  our  minds  or  hearts 
to  receive  it.  When  I  returned  from  Boston,  there 
were  a  few  more  than  fifty  without  hope.  In  about 
three  weeks,  all  but  six  expressed  some  hope  that  they 
had  found  the  Saviour ;  in  a  single  week  of  this  time, 
more  than  thirty  of  the  number. 

"In  air  my  privileged  experience  connected  with 
}  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  this,  I  think,  has  been  of  un- 
'  paralleled  rapidity ;  and  yet  I  have  never  witnessed 
more  quietness  and  stillness  than  in  its  progress,  or 
any  less  of  what  some  call  reaction,  to  be  watched 
against  in. the  result.  It  has  seemed  like  a  sudden, 
powerful  shower  bursting  upon  us,  but  descending 
with  so  much  gentleness  that  not  a  leaf  or  twig  among 
the  tender  plants  is  turned  out  of  its  place,  and  then 
so  suddenly  giving  way  to  the  beautiful  sun  and  re- 
freshing dews.  But  as  teachers,  we  have  a  great  work 
to  cherish  these  tender  plants.  Shall  we  not  liave 
your  prayers?  0  to  follow  Christ  in  the  work  of 
cherishing  them,  is  what  I  want.    This  desire  enters 


THE  MISSIONARY  SPIRIT.  261 

almost  daily  into  the  very  depths  of  my  soul  with  an 
untold  and  unwonted  strength." 

Such  a  history  as  the  preceding  is  certainly  very 
instructive  as  well  as  interesting  to  every  Cliristian 
who  loves  revivals.  It  lets  us  into  the  true  secret  of 
the  extraordinary  exhibitions  of  divine  grace  with 
which  the  schools  where  she  labored  and  prayed  have 
been  favored ;  and  that  is,  the  uniform  and  systematic 
fidelity  of  the  instructors.  Practically,  as  well  as 
theoretically,  they  have  given  religion  the  first  place 
in  their  teachings,  and  have  really  felt  more  solicitous 
about  the  eternal  than  the  literary  welfare  of  their 
pupils  ;  and  God  has  honored  those  who  thus  honored 
him,  by  that  special  influence  that  subdues  and  con- 
verts the  soul. 

The  seminary  has  been  a  nursery  of  missiona- 
ries. One  of  its  members  left,  the  first  year,  to  go  to 
the  Zulus  in  South  Africa,  and  several  of  the  earlier 
members  were  subsequently  stationed  in  other  dark 
corners  of  the  earth. 

Not  much  was  said,  in  starting  this  institution, 
about  raising  up  missionaries.  Yet  in  fact  the  prin- 
ciples on  which  it  was  founded,  and  the  paanner  in 
which  it  has  been  conducted,  tended  directly  to  such 
a  result.  All  who  engaged  in  the  work  of  founding 
and  conducting  the  enterprise,  were  expected  to  do 
it  on  the  same  benevolent  principles  that  form  the 
main-spring  of  missionary  labors.  They  were  not  to 
expect  any  pecuniary  reward,  save  what  was  essential 
to  a  comfortable  support.  The  pupils  were  taught 
that  they  ought  to  engage  in  the  business  of  teaching 


; 


268  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

from  a  sense  of  duty,  and  a  benevolent  desire  to  do 
good.  They  were  not  ta  avoid  any  field  of  labor  be- 
cause it  was  hard  and  uninviting.  They  were  to  hold 
themselves  in  readiness  to  go  to  any  part  of  our  own 
wide  country  where  Providence  should  point  out  the 
post  of  duty ;  and  such  would  easily  be  persuaded  to 
go  to  foreign  lands  on  a  like  errand  of  mercy. 

From  the  first,  special  and  systematic  efibrts  were 
made  to  awaken  an  interest  in  the  great  cause  of 
Christian  benevolence.  ^  Miss  Lyon  was  in  the  habit 
of  presenting  the  gospel  view  of  this  subject  for  sev- 
eral successive  mornings  each  year.  The  great  prin- 
ciples and  motives  which  she  urged  on  her  auditors 
came  every  year  clothed  with  new  power.  She  labored 
with  untiring  zeal  and  with  rare  success  to  start  her 
pupils  on  a  voluntary  course  of  self-denying  action. 
The  command,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self," was  held  up  day  by  day  in  new  and  interesting 
relations.  She  labored  to  enforce  the  duty  of  setting 
apart  from  their  income  a  fair  and  handsome  propor- 
tion to  meet  the  calls  of  benevolence,  and  really  made 
them  ashamed  to  wear  costly  apparel  and  drop  at 
the  same  time  only  "  two  mites "  into  the  treasury  of 
the  Lord. 

What  Christian  was  ever  a  year  with  her  without 
hearing  the  passage,  "  Whether  ye  eat,  or  drink,  or 
whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God,"  ex- 
pounded ?  and  who  did  not  carry  away  with  her  a 
livelier  sense  of  its  meaning  and  power  than  she  had 
carried  there?  Any  one  who  has  read  Miss  Lyon's 
work  on  missions,  must  have  seen  that  her  conceptions 
of  eternity,  of  an  eternity  of  sorrow,  spent  under  the 


THE  MISSIONARY  SPIRIT.  269 

frown  of  God,  were  awfully  distinct,  vivid,  and  con- 
trolling. How  her  hearers  would  almost  hold  their 
breath  as  she  dwelt  on  this  subject. 

"  Take,"  she  would  say,  "  any  slight  trouble  or 
trivial  suffering,  bodily  or  mental,  a  throbbing  tooth, 
a  tedious,  complaining,  disagreeable  room-mate,  and 
think,  *  I  am  to  bear  this  pain  a  year,  night  and  day ;' 
or, '  I  am  to  have  this  companion  always  in  my  pres- 
ence for  twelve  months.'  That  seems  long.  Yet  hope 
lends  strength  to  bear  the  evil.  A  year,  you  say,  and 
it  will  be  gone.  When  one  day  is  past,  you  subtract 
it  from  three  hundred  and  sixty-five,  and  rejoice  that 
you  are  one  day  nearer  the  end  of  your  trial.  Let  the 
load  accumulate  to  the  utmost  that  can  be  endured 
by  mortal  frame,  or  conceived  by  mortal  mind — let 
the  year  before  you  be  one  of  anguish,  of  remorse,  of 
grief,  of  suffering  like  that  which  separates  the  soul 
from  the  body,  and  yet  you  cannot  die.  You  are 
doomed  to  a  living  death,  always  dying,  yet  never  to 
die  ;  for  this  is  the  import  of  those  solemn  words,  the 
second  death  :  a  year  spent  in  such  agony,  how  long, 
how  slow  its  moments  roll !  Yet  hope  lends  her  pen- 
cil, and  the  happy  future  appears  beyond,  in  dim,  but 
certain  light.  Let  years  be  added  and  multiplied,  till 
the  sum  reach  a  number  equal  to  all  the  years  of  all 
the  lives  of  all  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Adam,  and 
let  the  soul  be  strung  to  endure  suffering  to  the  utmost 
stretch  of  its  capacity  in  all  these  years,  yet,  in  the 
infinite  ages  of  eternity,  there  would  come  a  period 
for  these  sufferings  to  cease.  Relief,  however  distant, 
would  lighten  the  woe.  But '  the  smoke  of  their  tor- 
ment ascendeth  up  for  ever  and  ever.'    It  is  an  ever- 


2t0  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

lasting  punishment;  the  worm  dieth  not,  the  fire  is 
not  quenched.  No  sun  shall  rise  on  that  darkness,  no 
time  shall  measure  out  those  groans.  It  will  be  one 
blank  scene  of  woe,  with  nothing  to  mark  its  dura- 
tion ;  and  when  the  soul  shall  ask, '  How  long?'  no  til- 
ing but  that  awful  *  How  long '  shall  echo  from  its 
prison  walls.  Oh,  for  ever, /or  ever/  Think  of  this 
word,  and  its  import.  Add  life  to  life,  and  age  to  age, 
and  you  have  not  approximated  it." 

Many  a  pupil  could  say,  in  a  manner  recognized 
at  once  by  her  companions  as  Miss  Lyon's,  "You 
wont  do  so  again,  will  you,  dear  ?"  but  no  one  could 
ever  imitate  her  manner  in  such  remarks  as  these. 
They  were  the  embodiment  of  her  own  experience. 
"  Souls  bought  and  redeemed  from  all  this  woe,"  she 
would  say,  "  how  should  they  show  forth  the  glory  of 
God  1  How  should  they  feel  towards  the  multitudes 
in  danger  of  perishing  for  lack  of  the  bread  of  life ! 
Who  that  has  been  redeemed,  and  permitted  to  linger 
on  the  shores  of  earth  a  while  to  represent  her  as- 
cended Saviour,  would  not  wish  to  eat  and  drink  and 
live  to  the  glory  of  God  ?  Who  but  would  rejoice  to 
give  all  her  money,  her  time,  her  talents,  her  influence 
to  this  great  cause,  the  salvation  of  the  perishing? 
When  you  are  about  spending  a  single  shilling,  re- 
member, that  shilling  might  carry  leaves  of  healing 
to  those  who  are  sick  unto  death,  unto  the  second 
death,  and  ask  whether  you  are  investing  it  to  God's 
glory.  The  question  for  the  Christian  is  not,  'Is  it 
right  for  me  to  buy  this  little  elegance  for  myself?' 
but,  *  Would  it  be  wrong  for  me  to  do  without  it  ?' 
You  waste  a  shilling's  worth  of  paper.    That  single 


THE  MISSIONARY  SPIRIT.  2T1 

shilling  might  have  sent  the  bread  of  life  to  the  fam- 
ishing." Her  sympathy  for  the  heathen  was  ever 
alive  and  active,  and  she  communicated  her  own 
feelings  of  indebtedness  to  them  for  Christ's  sake 
to  many  of  her  pupils.  She  led  them  to  feel  that 
all  they  were,  and  all  they  had,  were  indeed  the 
Lord's,  to  be  actively  and  constantly  employed  in  his 
service. 

Ever  after  the  first  two  years  of  its  existence,  a 
missionary  meeting  was  held  in  the  seminary  at  least 
as  often  as  once  a  month,  and  frequently  once  a  fort- 
night. It  is  the  object  of  the  meeting  to  disseminate 
throughout  the  school  information  relative  to  the 
moral  and  religious  condition  of  the  human  race,  to 
excite  inquiry,  and  to  awaken  zeal  in  the  great  object 
of  the  world's  regeneration.  The  result  has  been, 
that  not  less  than  sixty-one  members  of  the  seminary 
have  entered  the  foreign  field  of  missionary  labor ; 
of  whom  not  less  than  eleven  were  teachers  at  the 
seminary.  Every  Senior  class,  for  the  first  fifteen 
years,  has  had  one  or  more  representatives  in  the  mis- 
sionary field.  With  these  beloved  distant  daughters 
of  the  Seminary  communications  are  frequent,  and 
their  letters  give  great  interest  to  the  monthly  meet- 
ings. At  the  seminary  a  journal  is  kept  of  the  events 
transpiring  there,  and  a  copy  of  it  is  sent  to  each  mis- 
sionary. The  correspondence  forms  galvanic  wires 
through  which  the  missionary  spirit  is  transmitted 
backward  and  forward. 

Personal  consecration  is  the  strongest  evidence  of 
interest  in  the  missionary  work,  but  contributions  in 
money  are  also  an  index  of  the  feelings  of  the  heart. 


212  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

Judged  of  by  this  standard,  one  is  struck  with  the 
amount  contributed  by  the  Holyoke  seminary. 

The  teachers  have  set  a  good  example  to  their 
pupils  in  this  respect.  They  generally  head  the  sub- 
scription paper  with  handsome  sums.  The  tithe 
which  Miss  Lyon  brought  to  the  storehouse  of  the 
Lord,  was  gradually  increased  until  it  became  nearer 
one  half  than  one  tenth  of  her  income. 

The  annual  offering  of  the  school  has  varied  from 
six  hundred  to  eleven  hundred  dollars.  This  has 
been  the  voluntary  gift  of  teachers  whose  salaries, 
besides  board,  have  been  from  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  to  two  hundred  dollars ;  and  of  pupils 
many  of  whom  are  from  families  of  small  pecuniary 
means. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  give  a  few  notes 
from  the  missionary  journal,  bearing  on  the  manner 
in  which  the  subject  of  benevolence  was  presented  by 
Miss  Lyon,  and  illustrating  the  missionary  spirit  in 
the  school. 

"January  28,  1847.  Miss  Lyon  commenced  her 
lectures  upon  the  subject  of  missions  this  morning. 
She  read  passages  of  Scripture,  and  remarked  gen- 
erally upon  the  duty  of  Christian  benevolence.  She 
then  alluded  to  the  reward  to  be  expected  in  conse- 
quence of  denying  ourselves  for  Christ's  sake :  she 
differed  from  some  who  say  one  is  never  poorer  for 
giving  to  the  Lord.  '  If,'  said  she, '  they  mean  poorer 
in  a  spiritual  point  of  view,  I  agree  with  them,  but 
not  when  they  say  poorer  in  property ;  for  I  do  be- 
lieve the  Christian  ought  to  give  to  the  Lord,  so  as 
really  to  feel  the  need  of  what  he  gives.    It  is  a  pre- 


THE  MISSIONARY  SPIRIT.  213 

cious  privilege  to  suffer  for  Christ.'  She  seemed,  if 
possible,  more  earnest  and  animated  than  ever.  0  that 
there  were  many  more  who  would,  in  like  manner,  pre- 
sent to  Christians  the  claims  resting  upon  them,  who 
would,  at  the  same  time,  be  themselves  examples. 

"February  2.  Miss  Lyon  has  continued  her  re- 
marks upon  the  subject  of  missions  for  several  morn- 
ings. We  will  try  and  give  you  the  mere  outline. 
Your  own  minds  can  supply  the  rest,  better  than  our 
poor  pen. 

"  First,  we  must  do  all  Christ  requires  of  us,  be- 
cause a  reward  is  promised  to  him  who  gives  a  cup 
of  cold  water  ;  if  we  have  the  means  to  do  more,  we 
must  not  think  it  sufficient  to  do  this,  and  only  this. 
Secondly,  we  must  feel  that  we  are  as  unworthy  to 
give  in  the  name  of  Christ  as  we  are  to  receive. 
Thirdly,  when  we  give  the  most  with  the  most  self- 
denial,  then  do  we  most  deeply  feel  our  unworthiness. 
When  we  do  so  contribute  for  Christ's  sake,  then  are 
we  brought  into  a  blessed  sympathy  with  his  poverty, 
his  sufferings.  '  0  wonderful,  wonderful,'  she  ex- 
claimed, *  this  work  in  which  we  may  share.  How 
would  angels  delight  to  have  a  part  in  it.  And  shall 
we  hinder  it  by  unwillingness  to  give  ?' 

"  We  should  adopt  the  Bible  standard  of  benevo- 
lence, because  of  the  infinite  value  of  souls — of  the 
sacrifice  of  Christ  as  our  example — of  our  relations 
to  each  other — of  the  unseen  cords  that  bind  us  to 
the  heathen  world  ;  last,  though  not  least,  because  it 
is  God's  appointed  means  for  the  conversion  of  the 
world.  Take  the  Bible  standard  of  benevolence,  said 
she,  and  cling  to  it  as  long  as  you  live. 
12* 


274  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

"  April  7.  Miss  Lyon  this  forenoon  dwelt  in  a  most 
touching  manner  iipon  the  great  principle  that  Chris- 
tian charity  may  be  so  practised  and  illustrated  as  to 
make  us  f6el  what  a  price  was  paid  for  our  redemp- 
tion. She  noticed  expression^  of  Scripture  like  this : 
*Ye  are  bought  with  a  price/  etc.  'Always/  she 
added,  'remember  this  when  you  put  your  hand  to 
this  work.' 

"  April  13.  I  wish  it  were  in  my  power  to  convey 
to  you  all  the  precious  thoughts  Miss  Lyon  has  given 
us  upon  the  subject  of  Christian  charity.  Though 
she  has  dwelt  so  many  years  upon  this  theme,  there 
is  nothing  tedious  through  repetition.  She  leads  us 
not  in  the  same  beaten  track  of  thought.  Every  year 
brings  out  some  new  thing  from  the  rich  treasury  of 
her  full  soul.  In  her  remarks  this  forenoon  she  said 
the  telegraphic  wires  had  been  established  between 
us  and  the  heathen  ;  if  we  do  not  now  send  them  the 
gospel,  they  must  perish. 

"May  19.  Within  a  short  time  letters  have  been 
received  from  correspondents  in  Persia,  India,  China, 
Sandwich  Islands,  and  the  far  west ;  all  of  them  full 
of  glad  tidings.  Could  you  but  witness,  dear  sisters, 
how  much  interest  these  journals  of  yours  add  to  our 
missionary  meetings,  you  would  feel  yourselves  richly 
rewarded  for  all  the  labor  they  cost  you. 

"June  18.  In  our  teachers'  prayer-meeting  this 
evening.  Miss  Lyon  spoke  of  a  little  note  received 
from  Mrs.  Burgess.  She  proposed  we  should  mention 
the  names  of  those  who  have  been  connected  with  us, 
and  are  now  on  missionary  ground.  We  each  men- 
tioned one  or  more  of  them,  until  all  your  names  were 


THE  MISSIONARY  SPIRIT.  2t5 

repeated.  We  then  united  in  prayer  in  your  behalf. 
Miss  Lyon  led.  In  speaking  of  you  afterwards,  she 
said,  '  Let  us  each  be  faithful,  and  we  may  be  but  a 
step  behind  them  in  heaven.'  If  any  one  has  a  bright 
crown  there,  it  will  be  our  dear  Miss  Lyon.  Numbers 
in  heathen  lands  will  rise  up  and  call  her  blessed. 

"  July  11.  Our  missionary  subscription  is  com- 
pleted, and  the  amount  has  been  stated  to  the  school. 
Amount  given  to  foreign  missions,  $646  79  ;  home 
missions,  $361  00  :  whole  amount,  $1,007  79. 

"  August  29.  You  will  ask, '  Where  is  Miss  Lyon 
during  the  long  vacation?  Is  she  also  enjoying  rest?' 
We  would  we  could  say  she  is.  But  she  is  in  South 
Hadley.  Much  does  her  spirit  long  for  rest,  and 
much  does  she  need  it.  We  fear  for  the  next  year. 
Yet  I  would  trust  and  remember  that  *  our  Father  is 
at  the  helm.'  We,  doubting,  often  ask,  '  If  she  falls, 
who  shall  take  her  place?'  We  often  fear  she  may 
fail.  Powers  of  mind  and  body  so  hardly  tasked  can- 
not always  last.  We  fall  back  on  the  assurance,  God 
will  provide." 

In  illustration  of  Miss  Lyon's  missionary  spirit, 
we  give  the  following  passages  from  her  "  Missionary 
Offering,"  already  referred  to,  a  little  work  published 
by  Messrs.  Crocker  and  Brewster  in  1843.  Of  this 
work  she  says,  "  I  wrote  it  because  my  heart  was  so 
full  that  I  could  not  but  write." 

"  In  the  great  work  of  converting  the  world  to 
God,  Christian  sympathy,  and  a  just  and  solemn  sense 
of  responsibility,  are  the  two  grand  and  effective  im- 
pulses of  the  human  soul. 


276  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

"He  who  acts  under  these  impulses,  will  be  lis- 
tening to  the  still  small  voice  of  duty.  He  will  not 
be  partial  in  judging  between  the  interests  of  self, 
and  the  eternal  interests  of  others.  He  will  be 
constrained  to  adopt  and  practise  the  sentiments  of 
Howard :  '  Our  superfluities  should  be  given  up  for  the 
convenience  of  others ;  our  conveniences  should  give 
way  to  others'  necessities  ;  our  necessities  should  give 
way  to  the  extremities  of  others.'  Are  not  these  the 
sentiments  which  must  be  adopted  and  practised  to 
bring  the  whole  world  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  ? 
Are  they  not  sentiments  contained  in  the  second  great 
command  of  the  law,  and  in  the  golden  rule  ?  In  the 
great  work  of  saving  souls  from  death,  let  us  then  first 
give  up  our  superfluities.  When  that  is  done,  if  the 
providence  of  God  still  calls,  let  us  next  give  up  our 
conveniences.  When  we  have  done  that,  if  souls  are 
still  left  unsaved  and  unenlightened,  and  if  the  door 
is  still  kept  open  by  divine  Providence,  inviting  us 
to  enter,  let  us  last  of  all  give  up  our  necessities  to 
the  infinite  extremities  of  immortal  beings. 

"As  I  mused  on  these  things,  my  heart  burned 
within  me,  and  I  was  carried  away  to  visit  the  three 
great  scenes  of  Christian  sympathy. 

"  The  first  scene  was  that  of  the  Saviour's  life,  suffer- 
ings, and  death.  I  wandered  over  the  plains  of  Judea. 
Silently  I  walked  in  the  cold  garden.  I  stood  by 
the  fatal  cross.  I  seemed  to  hear  the  Saviour's  voice, 
calling  in  accents  of  melting  tenderness, '  Go  ye  into 
all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture.' '  The  servant  is  not  greater  than  his  Lord.' 
Come,  follow  me  ;  walk  in  my  footsteps,  and  we  shall 


THE  MISSIONARY  SPIRIT.  211 

be  glorified  together/  The  sympathy  between  the 
infinite  Son  of  God  and  his  unworthy  followers  ap- 
peared to  me  wonderful  indeed,  casting  a  bright  halo 
over  the  whole  subject  of  missions,  and  calling  into 
life  a  thousand  illustrations,  living  epistles,  known  and 
read  of  all  men.  What  remarkable  expressions  do  we 
find  in  the  sacred  volume  on  this  subject.  None  but 
an  infinite  mind  could  conceive  such  thoughts,  or  dare 
to  write  them.  '  He  was  tempted  in  all  points,  like  as 
we  are.'  '  He  can  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our 
infirmities.'  '  The  Captain  of  our  salvatidn  is  made 
perfect  through  sufi'erings.'  *  He  learned  obedience  by 
the  things  which  he  suffered.'  '  Himself  being  tempt- 
ed, he  is  able  to  succor  them  that  are  tempted.'  His 
is  not  a  sympathy  which  simply  pities  and  feels  for 
us.  It  is  a  sympathy  which  knows  by  experience  how 
to  partake  in  our  every  cup  of  joy,  and  in  our  every 
cup  of  sorrow.  But  this  is  not  all.  He  not  only  sufi'ers 
with  us  and  for  us,  but  he  even  invites  and  accepts 
our  sympathy  in  his  behalf.  Here  is  the  preeminent 
glory  of  all  this  subject.  We  are  permitted  to  labor 
with  him,  and  for  him ;  to  suffer  with  him,  and  for 
him  ;  to  be  partakers  in  his  reward  ;  to  share  in  the 
joy  that  was  set  before  him,  for  which  he  endured  the 
cross,  despising  the  shame.  We  are  said  to  be  cruci- 
fied with  Christ — to  be  partakers  of  his  sufferings; 
to  weep  with  him ;  to  rejoice  with  him  ;  to  reign  with 
him.  He  is  not  ashamed  to  call  us  brethren — ^breth- 
ren in  labors,  brethren  in  sufferings,  brethren  in  gath- 
ering in  the  rich  harvest  of  immortal  souls.  We  are 
to  be  conformed  to  his  image,  that  he  may  be  the 
first-born  among  many  brethren.    We  are  to  be  heirs 


2T8  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

of  God,  and  joint-heirs  with  Christ,  if  so  be  that 
we  suffer  with  him.  Who  could  conceive  of  conde- 
scension like  this?  Is  not  a  life  of  suffering  for 
Christ's  sake  a  great  privilege  ?  Is  it  not  surround- 
ed by  an  unparalleled  halo  of  glory  ?  Well  might 
the  apostle  seek  to  know  the  fellowship  of  Christ's 
Bufferings,  being  made  conformable  to  his  death.  My 
heart  exclaimed,  Lord,  teach  me  thus  to  manifest  the 
life  of  Jesus ;  heavenly  Father,  teach  me  to  live  more 
as  he  lived,  to  feel  more  as  he  felt,  to  labor  more  as 
he  labored,  to  deny  myself  more  as  he  denied  him- 
self, to  pray  more  as  he  prayed,  to  agonize  over  a 
lost  and  dying  world  more  as  he  agonized. 

"  But  I  was  led  on  to  another,  and  a  very  different 
scene.  It  was  a  scene  on  the  borders  of  the  world  of  de- 
spair— a  scene  casting  a  glare  of  lurid  light  over  the 
whole  missionary  enterprise,  and  urging  the  Christian 
on, to  unknown  and  untold  sacrifices  and  sufferings 
for  its  sake.  Necessity  seemed  laid  upon  me  to  take  a 
nearer  view  of  the  finally  lost  than  I  ever  had  done. 
I  had  formerly  turned  to  those  fearful  passages  in  my 
Bible.  I  had  followed  the  criminal  as  near  the  place 
of  execution  as  I  dared  approach.  But  as  the  flames 
began  to  flash  in  my  face,  and  as  the  groans  of  despair 
began  to  fall  on  my  ear,  my  affrighted  spirit  started 
back,  and  fled  away  from  the  dreadful  sight.  But  now 
I  felt  that  I  must  take  a  nearer  view  of  the  second  death 
than  I  ever  had  done.  Without  such  a  view,  I  feared 
that  I  should  not  weigh  things  in  a  just  balance,  that 
I  should  not  keep  the  skirts  of  my  garments  pure  from 
the  blood  of  souls,  that  I  should  not  use  as  I  ought 
each  hour  of  my  passing  days,  and  spend  as  I  should 


THE  MISSIONARY  SPIRIT.  2t9 

each  dollar  that  comes  under  my  control.  Without 
such  a  view,  I  feared  that  I  should  not  understand  as 
I  might,  and  value  as  I  ought,  that  infinite  price  paid 
for  the  ransom  of  the  soul. 

"  I  asked  God  for  strength  to  meet  the  dreadful 
scene.  I  approached  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  awful 
brink  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  I  trembled  at  every 
step.  I  arrived  at  its  very  edge,  and  the  foundations 
seemed  to  crumble  beneath  my  feet.  I  stooped  over 
to  take  a  view  of  the  dreadful  place,  and  the  yawning 
gulf  seemed  to  open  wide  its  mouth  to  receive  my 
fainting  spirit.  I  beheld  the  worm  that  never  dies, 
and  the  fire  that  never  is  quenched.  I  heard  the  un- 
utterable groans  of  the  for-ever  lost,  and  I  saw  the 
smoke  of  their  torment,  which  ascendeth  up  for  ever 
and  ever.  Who  can  endure  this,  I  exclaimed,  a  sin- 
gle year — a  single  day — a  single  hour  ?  But  Oh,  for 
ever  and  ever !  An  eternity  of  misery !  what  is  it  ? 
Many  have  told  us  what  it  is  not,  but  who  can  tell  us 
what  it  is  ?  What  a  view  did  I  then  have  of  the 
bleeding  Lamb  of  God,  groaning,  agonizing,  and  dy- 
ing to  save  a  lost  and  ruined  world  from  hopeless 
despair.  How  did  my  heart  at  that  moment  cling 
to  that  *  hope  which  is  as  an  anchor  to  the  soul,  both 
sure  and  steadfast,  and  which  entereth  into  that  with- 
in the  veil.'  But  Oh,  the  for-ever  lost !  They  know 
nothing  of  this  precious  hope.  Those  teeming  mill- 
ions just  ready  to  perish,  know  nothing  of  this  pre- 
cious hope.  Who  that  knows  aught  of  its  worth — 
who  that  has  ever  stood  on  the  borders  of  that  world 
of  endless  woe,  will  not  strive  with  all  his  might  to 
save  a  fellow-immortal  from  the  anguish  of  the  second 


280  tLIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

death?  Who,  in  such  a  work,  can  count  his  life 
dear  unto  him ;  who  can  call  aught  that  he  has  his 
own? 

"  I  was  led  on  to  another  scene.  It  was  a  scene  at 
the  gate  of  heaven,  casting  a  sweet  and  glorious  light 
over  the  whole  subject  of  missions.  There  I  beheld 
a  '  great  multitude,  which  no  man  could  number,  of 
all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  people,  and  tongues, 
stand  before  the  throne.'  And  one  said  to  me, 
*  These  are  they  which  came  out  of  great  tribulation, 
and  have  washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white 
in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.'  Then  I  heard  the  Sav- 
iour's voice,  that  sweetest  music  of  the  heavenly 
world,  saying,  These  are  my  followers ;  these  are  my 
dearest  friends.  They  have  known  of  the  fellowship 
of  my  sufferings  ;  they  shall  now  be  partakers  of  my 
joy.  '  Where  I  am,  there  shall  they  be  also,  that  they 
may  behold  my  glory.'  And  I  heard  that  new  song, 
which  no  man  could  learn  but  those  '  who  follow  the 
Lamb  whithersoever  he  goeth.'  And  as  they  sung, 
'  Worthy  art  thou,  for  thou  hast  redeemed  us  to  God 
by  thy  blood,'  my  heart  responded, 

" '  My  willing  soul  would  stay 
In  such  a  frame  as  this, 
And  sit  and  sing  herself  away 
To  everlasting  bliss.' 

" '  But  Oh,  the  for-ever  lost  1'  I  again  exclaimed. 
Never,  Oh  never  will  they  unite  in  that  new  song ; 
never  will  they  hear  the  Saviour's  blessed  voice ; 
never  will  they  ajt  under  the  banner  of  his  love.  0 
the  millions  ready  to  perish  !  Must  they  be  shut  out 
for  ever  from  the  new  Jerusalem?     Must  they  be 


THE  MISSIONARY  SPIRIT.  281 

banished  for  ever  from  the  Saviour's  blissful  pres- 
ence? Oh,  who  will  not  give  his  all  to  save  them 
from  eternal  death,  and  raise  them  to  eternal  glory  ? 
"  But  I  was  led  away  to  view  other  scenes,  and  to 
receive  other  impressions.  First  I  mingled  in  the 
busy  scenes  of  our  own  Christian  land.  The  veil 
was  lifted  from  mine  eyes,  and  I  saw  things  as  they 
are  seen  by  Him,  with  whom  '  one  day  is  as  a  thousand 
years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day.'  Spread  out 
before  me  was  a  solemn  and  awful  view  of  personal 
responsibility.  I  saw  the  folly  and  the  delusion  of 
those  who  are  ever  striving  to  secure  for  some  of 
their  steps  a  middle  path  between  the  service  of 
Christ  and  the  service  of  his  enemy.  That  vast  field 
of  supposed  neutral  ground  in  human  affairs,  so  long 
and  so  carefully  maintained,  seemed  in  reality  divid- 
ed between  the  two  great  contending  powers  of  eter- 
nal life  and  of  eternal  death.  I  saw  that  each  one's 
life  must  be  devoted  to  the  salvation  of  men,  or  its 
influence  be  felt  for  their  eternal  destruction.  Every 
thing  about  me  seemed  written  all  over  with  the  Sav- 
iour's words,  '  He  that  is  not  for  me,  is  against  me ; 
and  he  that  gathereth  not  with  me,  scattereth  abroad.' 
I  seemed  to  hear  a  mighty  harp  of  a  thousand  strings 
vibrating  at  the  least  touch  of  the  hand,  at  the  least 
breath  of  the  lips.  Its  every  tone  seemed  to  echo 
and  refecho,  and  ceased  not  till  it  mingled  in  the 
songs  of  the  new  Jerusalem,  or  till  it  waked  up  a 
deep  wail  in  the  bottomless  pit.  O  who  can  strike 
with  a  careless,  heedless  hand  the  chords  of  such  a 
harp?  Who  does  not  tremble  to  live,  to  walk,  to 
speak  in  such  a  world  as  this  ?    How  distressing  is 


282  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

the  mere  apprehension  of  having  by  accident  admin- 
istered a  fatal  cup  of  poison  to  a  fellow-being.  How 
unavailing  would  be  the  assurance  that  the  same  hand, 
in  a  hundred  other  cases,  had  given  bread  to  the  hun- 
gry, and  water  to  the  thirsty,  and  clothing  to  the  des- 
titute. But  infinitely  more  distressing  must  be  the 
certainty  of  having,  by  neglect  or  self-indulgence, 
destroyed  a  never-dying  soul.  My  heart  exclaimed, 
Let  the  past  of  my  life  sufiBce  in  the  work  of  death  ; 
henceforth  let  me  live  only  for  the  salvation  of  men. 
I  looked  up  to  the  God  of  my  salvation,  and  cried, 
Lord,  grant  that  I  may  never  again  spend  aught  of 
my  time  or  of  my  possessions  without  seeking  guid- 
ance and  direction  from  above ;  grant  that  I  may 
never  again  spend  aught  of  earth's  treasures  on  my- 
self without  the  united  approval  of  the  word  of  God, 
the  providence  of  God,  and  the  Spirit  of  God. 

"  But  time  hastened  me  away,  and  I  passed  on  to 
another  scene.  It  was  the  scene  of  the  judgment. 
There  I  beheld  the  Son  of  man  seated  on  his  throne 
of  glory,  and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him.  And  I 
beheld  the  books  as  they  were  opened  ;  '  and  the  dead 
were  to  be  judged  out  of  those  things  which  were 
written  in  the  books,  according  to  their  works.' 
First  came  an  unfolding  of  the  scenes  of  time ;  . .  .  . 
and  when  this  was  over,  then  came  the  judgment. 
And  I  saw  another  balance  lifted  high.  On  its  pol- 
ished front  was  engraved,  '  Love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart;  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.' 
This  was  the  balance  of  eternal  truth  and  justice,  by 
which  are  weighed  all  other  scales  and  all  other 
weights,  and  all  the  principles  and  all  the  deeds  of 


THE  MISSIONARY  SPIRIT.  283 

the  children  of  men.  By  the  decisions  of  this  revealer 
of  truth,  I  saw  that  personal  responsibility,  which  had 
been  so  much  neglected,  overlooked,  and  resisted,  had 
ever  been  a  most  fearful  and  solemn  reality.  I  saw 
that '  there  is  a  way  which  seemeth  right  unto  a  man, 
but  the  end  thereof  are  the  ways  of  death.'  And  I 
beheld  the  speechless  agony  of  those  in  whose  gar- 
ments was  found  the  blood  of  souls.  I  saw  many  a 
face  gather  blackness,  and  I  heard  many  a  despair- 
ing cry,  Lord,  when  did  I  destroy  the  souls  of  the 
heathen  ?  And  the  reply  was,  Inasmuch  as  thou 
didst  not  what  thou  couldst  to  save  them,  '  thou  art 
weighed  in  the  balances,  and  art  found  wanting.' 
Then  I  heard  a  voice  saying.  What  shall  it  profit  a 
man,  if  he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  destroy  an  im- 
mortal soul?  What  shall  it  profit  a  Christian  fa- 
ther, though  by  his  wisdom  and  foresight  he  provide 
well  for  his  own  household,  if  he  refuse  the  bread  of 
life  to  the  perishing  heathen  ?  What  shall  it  profit  a 
Christian  mother,  though  by  her  industry  and  discre- 
tion she  clothe  all  'her  household  in  scarlet,  in  silk, 
and  in  purple,'  if  she  refuse  the  robe  of  Christ's  right- 
eousness to  the  destitute  heathen  ?  But  as  I  heard  the 
last  and  awful  sentence,  *  Depart,  ye  cursed,'  I  turned 
away  and  came  back,  again  to  mingle  in  the  scenes 
and  doings  of  time. 

"  A  view  of  my  own  individual  responsibility  rest- 
ed on  me  with  an  indescribable  weight.  I  felt  that, 
in  the  sight  of  God,  my  duty  in  my  own  little  sphere, 
and  with  my  own  feeble  ability,  was  more  to  me  than 
the  duty  of  all  the  world  besides.  Could  I  throw 
my  influence  over  the  whole  country,  and  bring  thou- 


284  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

sands  into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord,  it  might  not  be 
80  important  a  duty  for  me,  as  to  give  from  my  own 
little  purse  that  last  farthing  which  God  requires. 
Could  I  make  my  voice  heard  from  one  end  of  the 
land  to  the  other,  and  so  plead  in  behalf  of  the  per- 
ishing heathen,  that  all  our  missionary  concerts  should 
be  filled  with  hearts  bowing  together  in  the  presence 
of  God,  it  might  not  be  so  important  a  duty  for  me, 
as  to  carry  my  own  feeble  petition  myself  to  the 
throne  of  mercy,  and  there,  in  the  name  of  our  bless- 
ed Redeemer,  plead  the  promises  with  an  earnestness 
which  cannot  be  denied.  While  I  mused  on  these 
things,  my  heart  seemed  ready  to  sink  under  its  load, 
and  I  fled  away  to  the  cross  of  Christ,  that  there  my 
weak  and  fainting  spirit  might  find  support,  comfort, 
and  guidance.  There  I  looked  up,  and  cried,  My 
dear  Redeemer,  make  me  '  to  know  the  fellowship  of 
thy  sufferings  ;  make  me  conformable  unto  thy  death.' 
There,  under  the  banner  of  the  Saviour's  dying  love, 
I  felt  it  to  be  the  most  precious  privilege  in  the  uni- 
verse to  deny  myself,  to  take  up  my  cross,  and  to  fol- 
low the  Lamb  whithersoever  he  goeth." 

In  a  notice  of  Miss  Lyon,  published  soon  after  her 
death,  the  writer  asks ; 

"Is  she  missed?  Scarcely  a  state  in  the  Amer- 
ican Union  but  contains  those  she  trained.  Long  ere 
this,  amid  the  hunting-grounds  of  the  Sioux  and  the 
villages  of  the  Cherokees,  the  tear  of  the  missionary 
has  wet  the  page  which  has  told  of  Miss  Lyon's  de- 
parture. The  Sandwich  Islander  will  ask  why  is  his 
white  teacher's  eye  dim,  as  she  reads  her  American 


THE  MISSIONARY  SPIRIT.  285 

letters.  The  swarthy  African  will  lament  with  his 
sorrowing  guide,  who  cries,  '  Help,  Lord ;  for  the 
godly  ceaseth.'  The  cinnamon  groves  of  Ceylon  and 
the  palm-trees  of  India  overshadow  her  early  de- 
ceased missionary  pupils,  while  those  left  to  bear  the 
burden  and  heat  of  the  day  will  wail  the  saint  whose 
prayers  and  letters  they  so  prized.  Among  the  Nes- 
torians  of  Persia  and  at  the  base  of  mount  Olympus 
will  her  name  be  breathed  softly,  as  the  household 
name  of  one  whom  God  hath  taken." 


286  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

MISCELLANEOUS  CORRESPONDENCE— PUBLISHED 
PAMPHLET— FIFTIETH  BIRTHDAY. 

We  go  back  a  little  to  give  some  of  Miss  Lyon's 
letters  which  could  not  be  inserted  earlier  without 
breaking  the  thread  of  the  narrative. 

In  1839,  the  first  death  occurred  at  the  seminary. 
In  a  letter  to  Miss  Grant,  dated  April  12, 1839,  Miss 
Lyon  thus  alludes  to  it : 

"We  have  just  been  passing  through  a  trying 
scene.  Death  for  the  first  time  has  entered  our  win- 
dows, and  marked  one  of  our  number  as  his  victim. 
It  has  been  a  trying,  solemn  time.  It  was  a  disease 
of  the  head,  and  as  is  common  in  such  cases,  was  very 
deceitful  in  developing  its  true  nature  till  a  short 
time  before  her  death.  On  this  account,  none  of  her 
friends  were  here  to  see  her  breathe  her  last.  Her 
sister  arrived  about  two  hours  after,  and  her  father 
met  the  remains  a  few  miles  from  this  place,  as  they 
were  moving  towards  her  last  earthly  home.  She 
had  been  with  us  about  a  year,  and  I  trust  her  being 
here  has  been  the  means  of  preparing  her  for  heaven. 

"  She  became  serious  last  summer,  indulged  a  hope 
in  the  autimm,  has  been  consistent  through  the  winter 
as  a  Christian,  and  has  seemed  to  share  deeply  in  the 
late  revival.  She  has  not  been  very  well  through  the 
whole  year,  and  I  now  think  that  the  causes  of  her 
last  disease  have  been  long  at  work  in  her  system. 
Bat  it  seems  as  if  an  unseen  hand  had  kept  back  its 


CORRESPONDENCE.  28T 

progress,  that  she  might  repent  and  believe,  and  pre- 
pare for  eternity." 

In  1840,  Miss  Lyon's  mother  was  removed  to  the 

unseen  world.     On  this  occasion  she  wrote  to  her 

only  brother : 

"  Sooth  Hadley,  Dec.  3, 1840. 

"  But  a  few  years  ago,  and  we  were  an  unbroken 
circle.  Though  separated  from  each  other,  we  seven 
were  all  living,  and  could  think  and  pray  for  one 
another  from  day  to  day.  After  the  hand  of  death 
was  laid  on  our  dear  father,  nearly  thirty  years  pass- 
ed away  before  any  one  of  us  was  called  out  of  time 
into  eternity.  Since  then,  how  frequently  have  we 
been  called  to  mourning.     How  great  have  been  the 

ravages  of  death.    You  have  heard  of  sister  F 'a 

departure,  and  now  it  becomes  my  painful  duty  to  tell 
you  that  another  one  is  gone.  Yes,  our  dear  mother 
is  no  more.  My  dear  brother,  can  you  think  how 
lonely  it  was  to  me  as  I  followed  her  dear  remains  to 
the  grave,  with  no  brother  or  sister  by  my  side  ?  I 
felt  that  indeed  our  family  was  but  a  broken  circle. 
As  I  passed  out  of  the  door  where  I  had  often  met 
her  gladdened  and  joyful  face,  as  I  went  along  the 
way  where  we  had  so  many  times  rode  together  to 

see  sister  J -,  and  as  I  looked  on  her  placid  face 

for  the  last  time,  *  Can  this  be,'  thought  I,  '  my  dear 
mother ;  and  is  this  my  last  visit  to  her  solitary 
home?'" 

In  the  summer  of  1841,  Miss  Lyon  was  persuaded 
to  journey  a  few  weeks  for  her  health.  She  visited 
her  near  and  dear  relatives  in  the  state  of  New  York. 


288  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

They  were  at  the  time  in  distressing  straits,  and  knew 
not  whence  help  could  come.  By  a  series  of  misfor- 
tunes, sicknesses,  and  losses,  they  had  been  driven  to 
mortgage  their  small  farm.  They  were  in  anxious 
conference  at  the  moment  of  her  arrival,  because  their 
homestead  was  expected  that  very  day  to  come  under 
the  hammer  of  the  auctioneer.  "  Here  is  Mary  ;  she 
will  help  you,"  said  her  uncle,  as  she  stopped  at  the 
door  of  their  humble  dwelling.  She  was  the  angel 
of  mercy  to  them  in  their  hour  of  need.  She  redeemed 
the  farm,  took  the  deed  in  her  own  name,  gave  them 
a  life-lease,  and  on  their  death  it  was  bequeathed  by 
her  last  will  and  testament  to  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions. 

The  next  letter  has  reference  to  the  event  that 
changed  the  address  of  her  friend  Miss  Grant. 

"August  18, 1841. 
"  My  dear  Miss  Grant — I  received  yours  by  last 
mail.  To  say  that  I  was  so  deeply  interested  in  its 
contents  that  I  could  hardly  sleep,  would  be  saying 
but  little.  I  have  nothing  to  say  on  the  subject, 
either  good  or  bad.  I  have  only  to  desire  that  this 
exceedingly  important  event  may  be  for  your  own 
happiness  and  usefulness,  for  the  happiness  and  use- 
fulness of  others,  and  also  for  the  glory  of  God.  I 
trust  I  shall  be  able  to  be  with  you  on  Tuesday,  the 
7th.  My  thanks  to  yourself  and  Mrs.  B for  in- 
viting me  to  pass  Monday  night  with  you.  If  I  am 
prevented  from  being  with  you  on  the  7th,  it  will  be 
to  me  a  great  trial.  May  the  Lord  guide,  keep,  and 
sustain  you,  my  dear  friend." 


CIRCULAR.  281> 

From  the  beginning  of  the  enterprise,  Miss  Lyon 
had  desired  that  the  institution  should  furnish  accom- 
modations for  two  hundred  pupils.  Though  compel- 
led to  commence  the  school  with  room  for  only  half 
that  number,  she  never  for  a  moment  abandoned  the 
intention  of  completing  the  original  plan.  Every 
year  after  the  first  brought  several  times  as  many 
applications  as  could  be  accepted.  She  desired  to 
multiply  the  beneficent  influences  of  the  institution  by 
multiplying  its  members.  The  initiatory  measures 
for  an  addition  to  the  building  were  taken  in  1839, 
and  were  fully  carried  out  in  1842.  With  reference 
to  obtaining  funds  for  this  addition.  Miss  Lyon  pre- 
pared a  pamphlet  on  the  "Tendencies  of  the  Princi- 
ples embraced,  and  the  System  adopted  in  the  Mount 
Holyoke  Female  Seminary."  No  longer  obliged  to 
speak  merely  of  what  was  expected  and  intended,  she 
was  able  to  state  what  the  school  was,  and  what  it 
was  doing.  To  the  community  which  had  provided 
the  institution,  she  could  appeal  to  enlarge  its  accom- 
modations and  increase  its  privileges.  From  this 
pamphlet  we  make  some  extracts. 

"The  enterprise  of  founding  this  seminary  was 
commenced  nearly  five  years  ago.  More  than  three 
years  were  occupied  in  preparing  the  way,  in  raising 
the  funds,  and  in  erecting  the  building  now  occupied. 
It  was  ready  for  the  reception  of  scholars  November 
8, 1837. 

"  The  original  plan  was  to  provide  for  two  hun- 
dred. Only  the  first  building  has  yet  been  erected. 
This  can  accommodate  only  ninety.  In  order  to  finish 
the  plan,  at  least  twenty  thousand  dollars  more  will 

M»ry  Lyou.  1 3 


290  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

be  needed  for  the  buildings,  besides  perhaps  five 
thousand  dollars  or  more  for  furniture,  library,  and 
apparatus. 

"  The  seminary  has  peculiar  advantages  for  high 
intellectual  culture.  The  age  required  for  entrance 
secures  to  the  pupils  mental  power,  and  the  attain- 
ments required  for  admission  insure  a  high  standard 
of  scholarship. 

"  Religious  culture  lies  at  the  foundation  of  that 
female  character  which  the  founders  of  this  seminary 
have  contemplated.  The  donors  and  benefactors, 
with  its  trustees  and  teachers,  have  felt  a  united 
obligation  to  seek,  in  its  behalf, '  first  the  kingdom  of 
God  and  his  righteousness.'  They  would  have  the 
spirit  of  benevolence  manifest  in  all  its  principles, 
and  in  the  manner  of  conferring  its  privileges,  in  the 
mutual  duties  it  requires  of  its  members,  and  in  the 
claims  it  makes  on  them  to  devote  their  future  lives 
to  doing  good.  Endeavors  have  been  made  to  raise 
the  funds,  and  to  lay  the  whole  foundation  on  Chris- 
tian principles,  to  organize  a  school  and  form  a  fam- 
ily that  from  day  to  day  might  illustrate  the  precepts 
and  spirit  of  the  gospel.  Public  worship,  the  Bible 
lesson,  and  other  appropriate  duties  of  the  Sabbath, 
a  regular  observance  of  secret  devotion,  suitable 
attention  to  religious  instruction  and  social  prayer- 
meetings,  and  the  maintaining  of  a  consistent  Chris- 
tian deportment,  are  considered  the  most  important 
objects  of  regard,  for  both  tea^jhers  and  scholars. 
The  friends  of  this  seminary  have  sought  that  this 
might  be  a  spot  where  souls  shall  be  born  of  God, 
and  where  much  shall  be  done  for  maturing  and  ele- 


CIRCULAR.  291 

vating  Christian  character.  The  smiles  of  Provi- 
dence and  the  influences  of  the  H0I7  Spirit  have 
encouraged  them  to  hope  that  their  desires  will  not 
be  in  vain. 

"  Physical  culture  is  an  object  of  special  regard  in 
this  seminary.  The  value  of  health  to  a  lady  is  ines- 
timable. How  difficult  is  it  for  her  to  perform  all 
her  duties  faithfully  and  successfully,  unless  she  pos- 
sesses at  all  times  a  calm  mind,  an  even  temper,  a 
cheerful  heart,  and  a  happy  face.  But  a  feeble  sys- 
tem and  a  nervous  frame  are  often  the  direct  antago- 
nists of  these  indispensable  traits  in  a  lady's  charac- 
ter. To  preserve  the  health  and  promote  the  physical 
comfort  of  the  family,  the  time  is  all  regularly  and 
systematically  divided.  The  hours  for  rising  and 
retiring  are  early.  The  food  is  plain  and  simple,  but 
well  prepared,  and  from  the  best  materials.  No  arti- 
cle of  second  quality  of  the  kind  is  ever  purchased 
for  the  family,  and  no  standard  of  cooking  is  allowed 
but  that  of  doing  every  thing  as  well  as  it  can  be 
done.  The  day  is'  so  divided  that  the  lessons  can  be 
well  learned,  and  ample  time  allowed  for  sleep ;  the 
hour  for  exercise  iti  the  domestic  department  can  be 
secured  without  interruption,  and  a  half  hour  in  the 
morning  and  evening  for  secret  devotion,  also  half  an 
hour  for  vocal  music,  and  twenty  minutes  for  calis- 
thenics. Besides,  there  are  the  leisure  hours,  in  which 
much  is  done  of  sewing,  knitting,  and  ornamental 
needlework ;  and  much  is  enjoyed  in  social  inter- 
course, in  walking,  and  in  botanical  excursions.  This 
institution  presupposes  a  good  degree  of  health  and 
correct  habits.    Little  can  be  done  in  this  seminary, 


292  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

or  any  other,  for  those  whose  constitution  is  already 
impaired,  or  whose  physical  habits,  up  to  the  age  of 
sixteen,  are  particularly  defective.  But  it  is  believed 
that  a  young  lady  who  is  fitted  for  the  system,  and 
who  can  voluntarily  and  cheerfully  adopt  it  as  her 
own,  will  find  this  place  favorable  for  preserving  un- 
impaii-ed  the  health  she  brings  with  her,  and  for  pro- 
moting and  establishing  the  good  physical  habits 
already  acquired. 

*•  This  institution,  it  is  well  known,  is  distinguish- 
ed for  its  economical  features.  Economy  consists  in 
providing  well  at  little  comparative  expense.  It  can 
be  equally  manifested  in  the  tasteful  decorations  of  a 
palace  and  in  the  simple  comforts  of  a  cottage.  It  is 
not  adopted  in  this  seminary  principally  for  its  own 
sake,  but  as  a  mode  of  producing  favorable  efiects  on 
character,  and  of  preparing  young  ladies  for  the  duties 
of  life.  The  great  object  is  to  make  the  school  really 
better.  An  economical  character  is  to  be  formed  by 
precept,  by  practice,  and  by  example.  Example  has 
great  effect,  not  only  in  furnishing  a  model  for  imita- 
tion, but  also  in  proving  that  economy  is  practicable, 
which  is  one  of  the  most  essential  requisites  for  suc- 
cess. Let  a  young  lady  spend  two  or  three  years,  on 
intimate  terms,  in  a  family  distinguished  for  a  judi- 
cious and  consistent  illustration  of  this  principle,  and 
the  effects  cannot  be  lost. 

"This  institution  seeks  to  exert  a  decided  influ- 
ence against  that  feeling  of  dependence  on  the  will  of 
servants  which  is  so  common  in  our  cities  and  large 
towns,  and  from  which  ladies  in  the  country  are  not 
wholly  exempt.    The  whole  aspect  of  the  family,  and 


CIRCULAR.  293 

all  the  plans  of  the  school,  are  suited  to  cultivate 
domestic  independence.  The  daily  hour  for  these 
duties  returns  to  each  at  the  appointed  time,  and  no 
one  inquires  whether  it  can  be  omitted  or  transferred 
to  another.  No  one  receives  any  pecuniary  reward 
for  her  services,  and  no  one  seeks  with  her  money  to 
deprive  herself  of  ihe  privilege  of  sharing  in  the  free- 
dom, simplicity,  and  independence  of  her  home. 

"The  power  of  bringing  personal  and  family  ex- 
penses fairly  and  easily  within  the  means  enjoyed,  is 
also  very  essential  to  a  high  degree  of  domestic  happi- 
ness. The  whole  system  adopted  in  this  seminary  is 
designed  to  give  a  living  illustration  of  the  principle 
by  which  this  power  is  to  be  gained.  This  ability  will 
be  of  immense  value  in  active  life.  It  will  prepare 
one  to  sustain  the  reverses  of  fortune  with  submis- 
sion, or  to  meet  the  claims  of  hospitality  and  charity 
with  promptness.  This  kind  of  independence  might 
be  to  the  great  cause  of  benevolence  like  an  overflow- 
ing fountain,  whose  streams  will  never  fail.  The 
institution  is  not  designed  to  conduct  a  young  lady's 
domestic  education.  It  would  not  take  this  privilege 
from  the  mother.  But  it  does  seek  to  preserve  the 
good  habits  already  acquired,  and  to  make  a  favor- 
able impressfon  with  regard  to  the  value  of  system, 
promptness,  and  fidelity  in  this  branch  of  the  duties 
of  woman. 

"To  cultivate  an  obliging  disposition,  and  to 
bring  every  little  opportunity  for  self-denial  to  bear 
on  the  character,  has  been  a  leading  object  in  all  the 
plans  of  this  institution,  in  the  organization  of  the 
school,  and  especially  in  the  arrangements  of  the  fam- 


294  LIFE  OF  MART  LYON. 

ilj.  As  the  domestic  work  is  done  entirely  by  the 
young  ladies,  the  Varied  and  mutual  duties  of  the  day 
furnish  many  little  opportunities  for  the  manifesta- 
tion of  a  generous,  obliging,  and  self-denying  spirit, 
the  influence  of  which,  we  trust,  will  be  felt  through 
life.  *  He  that  is  faithful  in  the  least,  is  faithful  also 
in  much,'  is  a  motto  for  the  daily  guidance  of  this 
household. 

"On  entering  this  seminary,  young  ladies  can 
scarcely  avoid  feeling  that  they  are  sharing  the  fruits 
of  benevolent  efforts ;  that  they  are  enjoying  privi- 
leges which  they  cannot  purchase;  that  they  owe  a 
debt  of  gratitude  to  the  founders  which  gold  and  sil- 
ver can  never  cancel,  and  which  can  be  met  only  by 
a  useful  Christian  life." 

To  ICri.   Banister,  formerly  Miss  Qrant. 

"  South  Hadley,  December,  1842. 

"  To  say  that  the  death  of  your  niece,  Mrs.  Bur- 
gess,* was  sorely  felt  by  many,  would  be  saying  but 
very  little.  You  know. I  loved  her  much,  and  valued 
her  highly.  I  had  the  privilege  of  seeing  and  know- 
ing much  of  her,  taking  together  all  the  time,  from 
my  first  meeting  her  at  her  father's  in  Colebrook, 
Connecticut,  and  my  first  calling  her  my  pupil  in 
Buckland,  to  her  last,  farewell  visit  Bere,  which  I 
shall  always  remember.  She  has  gone,  but  she  has 
left  in  our  hearts  a  sweet  memorial.  What  a  privi- 
lege it  is  so  to  live  as  to  leave  such  a  sweet  savor, 
such  a  precious  treasure  in  the  hearts  of  surviving 
friends. 

"  We  have  had  a  very  prosperous  year  in  worldly 
*  Missionary  in  India. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  295 

things.  Every  thing  is  systematized,  and  Miss  Moore 
and  Miss  Whitman  urge  forward  the  wheels  so  beau- 
tifully that  all  seems  more  than  ever  like  clockwork. 
I  enjoy  very  much  having  every  thing  done  better  by 
others  than  it  can  be  by  myself.  If  this  pleasure  con- 
tinues to  increase  as  it  has  done  for  a  year  or  two,  I 
hope  I  may  be  prepared  to  be  happy  in  being  old,  and 
in  being  laid  aside  as  a  useless  thing.  But  in  spirit- 
ual things  we  are  less  favored.  There  has  been  less 
interest  than  we  have  had  any  year  since  the  first. 
Pray  for  us,  that  we  may  not  receive  all  our  good 
things  in  this  life." 

To  Mrs.  Safford. 

"South  Hadley,  May  1,  1843. 
"  You  express  a  desire  that  I  should  think  of  Bos- 
ton. How  could  I  do  less,  when  God  has  given  you 
a  heart  so  full  of  interest  in  our  behalf?  *  Ye  knew 
what  great  conflict '  I  had  about  the  time  I  was  in 
Boston,  and  you  opened  your  heart  to  sympathize 
with  me  in  behalf  of  those  who  had  never  seen  your 
face  in  the  flesh.  I  thought  I  had  reason  to  believe 
that  out  of  our  family  no  one  was  like-minded  with 
yourselves  to  care  for  our  souls.  How  can  I  but 
remember  you  in  return,  and  the  desires  of  your 
hearts,  and  the  work  of  your  hands  ?  That  infantile 
church  has  its  own  place,  and  a  very  important  place, 
in  the  great  system  of  means  in  the  world.  In  bring- 
ing that  church  to  occupy  just  its  own  place  in  this 
blessed  work,  the  labors  and  responsibilities  which 
Providence  has  assigned  to  yourself  and  husband, 
are  by  no  means  small.  When  I  pour  out  my  heart 
before  the  mercy-seat,  I  cannot  but  remember  your 


290  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

church,  your  labors  in  it,  and  the  labors  of  your  be- 
loved pastor.  How  much  do  you  all  need  of  heavenly 
wisdom,  of  holy  love,  and  of  godly  zeal.  May  the 
Lord  give  you  more  than  we  can  ask  or  think." 

To  llri.  Banister. 

"July,  1843. 

"My  dear  Mrs.  Banister — I  have  finished  my 
business  so  as  to  leave  to-morrow.  I  have  given 
directions  to  have  your  thirty-two  copies  of  the  '  Mis- 
sionary Offering'  sent  to  you.  Will  you  accompany 
each  copy  which  you  give  away  with  one  petition — 
that,  sooner  or  later,  God  would  honor  the  exceeding 
riches  of  his  condescending  love  in  blessing  it  to  the 
salvation  of  some  souls  ?  I  have  thought  more  about 
the  instrumentality  of  prayer,  for  a  few  months  past, 
than  ever  before  in  the  same  time.  What  a  field  of 
usefulness  is  here  opened  for  all,  under  all  circum- 
stances. What  a  privilege  is  it  to  pray  that  God 
may  be  honored  by  all  our  friends,  and  by  ourselves, 
at  all  times  and  in  all  places ;  that  the  interests  of 
immortal  souls  may  be  promoted,  and  Christ's  king- 
dom advanced.  It  seems  to  me  an  infinite  privilege 
to  have  my  friends  pray  that  God  may  be  honored  in 
all  I  do,  compared  with  their  simply  praying  for  my 
own  comfort  and  happiness." 

To  Mrs.  Safford,  Sept.  26,  1843,  she  writes : 
"The  thought  of  giving  instruction  to  so  many 
minds  brings  with  it  an  increasing  anxiety.  For  this 
I  must  reserve  all  the  mental  and  moral  strength  which 
I  can.  I  must  not  depend  on  the  impulse  of  the  mo- 
ment, and  on  the  strength  which  I  can  rally  for  the 
occasion,  so  much  as  I  have  done  the  last  six  years. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  29T 

When  I  think  of  the  sudden  and  strong  transitions  of 
mind  and  heart  which  I  have  often  been  obliged  to 
make,  I  feel  that  I  can  never  make  them  again  ;  and 
even  if  I  could,  I  could  not  sustain  the  shock  many 
times  more. 

"  I  have  taken  a  health  excursion  among  the  hills, 
about  forty  miles  distant,  and  just  returned  quite  in- 
vigorated. I  have  a  good  old  aunt  among  the  hills. 
Her  home  is  in  the  highest,  and  wildest,  and  roughest 
place  which  I  ever  visit.  She  is  the  last  remnant  of 
the  old  stock,  tfie  liveliest  image  of  my  dear  mother. 
I  always  find  the  ride  to  her  mountain  home,  and  the 
communing  with  her  as  on  former  days,  very  sweet." 

Miss  Fidelia  Fiske,  mentioned  in  the  next  letter, 
entered  the  seminary  in  1840,  graduated  in  1842,  and 
then  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  seminary.  In  1843, 
she  accepted  an  invitation  to  go  to  Oroomiah,  Persia, 
as  a  missionary. 

To  Rev.  Justin  Perkins,  D.  D.,  of  Oroomiah,  Persia. 
"  South  Hadley,  Feb.  6,  1844. 

"  Dear  Sir — Your  kind  letter,  bearing  date  July  7, 
I  have  received,  for  which  please  accept  my  cordial 
thanks.  Perhaps  you  may  occasionally  grant  mo 
other  like  favors. 

"  Your  testimony  to  Miss  Fiske's  happiness  and 
usefulness  is  very  gratifying.  Her  own  letters,  too, 
are  all  suited  to  make  her  friends  happy  in  having 
given  her  up  for  such  a  work.  It  is  my  opinion  that 
the  leadings  of  Providence  should  be  decisive  to  jus- 
tify our  encouraging  an  unmarried  female  to  go  on  a 
foreign  mission.  My  impressions  on  this  subject  were 
13* 


298  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

strengthened  as  I  saw  Misses  Fiske  and  Myers  bidding 
farewell  to  friends  and  home,  and  kindred  and  coun- 
try. How  different  was  their  situation  from  that  of 
the  rest  of  the  company.  Every  other  missionary  had 
one  intimate  friend,  and  that  one  the  dearest  friend  on 
earth.  But  Miss  Fiske  has  been  admirably  prepared 
by  the  endowments  of  nature,  by  the  dealings  of  Prov- 
idence, and  by  the  influence  of  grace,  for  just  such  a 
sacrifice.  I  rejoice  that  her  heavenly  Father  has  called 
her  to  this  self-denying  work,  and  that  she  was  not 
disobedient  to  the  heavenly  voice.  I  rejoice,  too,  that 
the  finger  of  Providence  pointed  her  out  to  go,  rather 
than  any  other  one  about  whom  we  had  conversation. 
I  doubt  not  that  she  will  find  many  ways  of  doing  good 
besides  that  of  teaching.  As  you  wander  along  to- 
gether, a  lonely  band  through  this  vale  of  tears,  and 
as  you  are  laboring  and  suffering  for  Christ's  sake,  I 
doubt  riot  that  Miss  Fiske  will  often  be  able,  in  her 
own  quiet  way,  to  come  to  one  heart  and  another  as 
an  angel  of  mercy  and  kindness.  Sometimes  she  may 
be  able  to  give  to  some  of  her  companions  in  toil  a 
cup  of  consolation,  when  others,  who  would  fain  enjoy 
the  same  privilege,  have  not  the  time  nor  the  strength 
granted  them. 

"  Miss  Fiske  has  been  very  faithful  and  successful 
in  writing  letters.  I  think  this  not  among  the  least 
of  the  ways  given  her  to  serve  the  cause. 

"  You  speak  with  interest  of  your  visit  to  Amer- 
ica, and  to  our  beloved  institution.  Your  remem- 
brance of  us  is  gratifying  to  our  hearts.  I  rejoice 
that  I  was  permitted  to  see  so  much  of  you  while  in 
this  country.    I  enjoyed  your  visits  here  very  much, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  299 

and  the  memory  is  still  precious.  We  love  to  recog- 
"oize  your  mission  and  your  name,  as  well  as  that  of 
our  beloved  friend  Miss  Fiske.  I  would  rejoice  and 
thank  God  in  your  behalf,  that  your  return,  your  visit, 
and  your  departure,  were  attended  with  so  many  cir- 
cumstances comforting  to  yourselves  and  favorable 
to  the  cause.  Among  all  the  duties  that  devolve  on 
a  missionary,  it  is  far  from  being  the  least  responsible, 
to  be  called  in  providence  to  visit  his  native  land, 
and  to  meet  all  the  people  and  all  things  which  he 
must  meet,  and  to  make  everyv^here  an  honest,  a 
faithful,  and  a  salutary  impression — an  impression 
worthy  of  Him  who  came  from  heaven  to  earth  on  a 
great  mission  to  save  a  lost  and  guilty  world. 

"  Give  my  very  affectionate  regards  to  Mrs.  Per- 
kins.* May  you  both  have  strength  given  you,  for 
many  years  to  come,  to  enjoy  the  privilege  of  labor- 
ing and  suffering  for  Christ's  sake. 

"  Give  my  affectionate  remembrance  to  Mar  Yo- 
hannan.  I  hope  he  will  live  to  see  many  missiona- 
ries go  from  his  country  to  different  parts  of  Asia. 
My  love  to  Miss  Myers." 

Miss  Lyon  to  Miss  Fiske. 

"March  4, 1844. 
"  My  dear  Miss  Fiske — ^It  is  one  year  this  week 
since  we  were  in  Boston  together.  I  have  often  de- 
sired to  write  you  of  the  passing  events,  some  of  deep 
and  thrilling  interest,  which  have  transpired  since 
that  time.  As  my  mind  and  heart  have  been  borne 
along  upon  the  swelling  wave,  I  have  thought  of  you, 

*  Mrs.  Perkins  was  a  pupil  at  Ipswich. 


800  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

and  thought,  too,  that  I  should  love  to  have  you  know 
•what  was  passing  among  us.  But  I  have  almost  done 
«vriting  letters,  except  on  business.  I  can  never  again 
sit  down  to  write  what  will  be  worth  sending  so  far 
by  mail.  But  in  our  little  box  for  you  I  cannot  re- 
frain from  depositing  a  note.  But  what  shall  I  write? 
Every  thing  will  be  told  you  over  and  over  again,  ex- 
cept it  may  be  some  of  the  passing  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings in  my  own  breast.  And  first  I  would  thank  you 
sincerely  for  your  faithfulness  and  promptness  in  writ- 
ing to  me,  and  to  us  all.  I  believe  it  is  one  prominent 
way  offered  you  of  doing  good  to  write  to  this  semi- 
nary. I  hope  you  will  have  mind,  heart,  and  strength 
to  continue  to  do  in  this  respect  as  you  have  begun. 
I  shall  enjoy,  in  my  turn,  receiving  an  occasional  let- 
ter, though  I  may  never  write  you  again." 

To   Mrs.  Baniiter. 

"MoNSON,  Sept.  3,  1844. 
"  My  dear  Mrs.  Banister — I  am  now  on  my  way 
to  Boston,  where  I  shall  spend  a  few  days,  and  return 
to  attend  the  meeting  of  the  Board  at  "Worcester. 
Shall  we  not  see  you  at  Worcester?  Is  it  not  the 
duty  and  privilege  of  Christians  to  carry  this  mission- 
ary meeting  on  their  hearts  to  the  throne  of  grace? 
Except  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they  labor  in  vain 
who  build  it.  What  a  privilege  it  is  to  be  allowed 
to  cooperate  in  the  least  degree  in  the  great  work  of 
bringing  this  world  to  the  love  and  service  of  our 
blessed  Redeemer.  As  we  advance  in  life,  may  we 
have  a  more  single  eye  to  the  glory  of  God  in  all  wo 
do,  in  all  we  desire,  and  in  all  we  feel.  May  we  have 
deeper  and  more  aflfecting  views  of  the  value  of  the 


CORRESPONDENCE.  301 

soul,  and  of  the  unspeakable  and  incomprehensible 
price  which  has  been  paid  for  its  ransom.  I  often  feel 
that  my  days  are  rapidly  passing,  and  that  I  have  but 
a  few  remaining.  But  these  remaining  days  will  be 
precious,  if  spent  for  the  cause  of  Christ.  And  what 
an  unspeakable  privilege  is  it  to  indulge  the  hope 
that  when  our  work  is  done,  we  may  be  admitted, 
through  infinite  grace,  to  dwell  for  ever  with  the 
Lord." 

To  Mrs.   Banister. 

"  South  Hadlet,  July  23, 1845. 
"  My  VERY  DEAR  Friend — I  have  allowed  your  letter 
to  lie  by  one  mail,  and  if  you  had  been  with  us  yester- 
day morning  you  would  not  think  it  strange.  About 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning  our  building  was  struck 
with  lightning,  but  it  was  saved  from  a  speedy  and 
dreadful  destruction.  Do  you  recollect  a  closet  over 
our  ovens  for  drying  towels  ?  The  frame  to  hold  the 
towels  was  moved  on  iron  rails.  The  electric  fluid 
was  attracted  to  these  rails,  and,  as  I  suppose,  in  a 
moment  every  towel  was  lighted  to  an  intense  blaze, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  the  whole  closet  was  like  a  burn- 
ing oven.  I  think  I  heard  the  report  when  the  light- 
ning struck,  and  in  less  than  five  minutes  I  heard  the 
cry  oijire.  In  a  few  minutes  more,  I  think  it  would 
have  found  its  way  to  the  woodwork  and  doors  lead- 
ing to  the  stairways,  and  would  have  been  past  con- 
trol. I  have  not  time  to  tell  you  how  we  were  deliv- 
ered. My  mind  has  been  affected  by  this  striking 
illustration  of  eternal  things,  and  of  our  dependence 
on  that  unseen  hand  by  which  we  have  been  saved 
from  everlasting  burning." 


302  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

To  Miss  Fiske. 

"January  15,  1846. 
"  You  sympathize  in  all  the  things  which  are  pass- 
ing among  us,  and  especially  in  those  events  which 
relate  to  the  missionary  cause.  I  know  that  some  of 
your  kind  friends  will  be  sure  to  tell  you  that  Miss 
Moore  is  really  going.  It  will  surprise  you,  as  it  has 
many  here.  The  first  question  generally  is,  '  What 
does  Miss  Lyon  think  of  it  ?'  I  have  nothing  to  say 
in  all  these  things,  only  to  ask  that  the  will  of  the 
Lord  may  be  done,  and  to  submit  to  all  the  dispensa- 
tions of  Providence,  whether  with  or  without  means, 
to  carry  out  our  plans.  This  is  certainly  a  great 
event  to  us,  and  especially  to  me.  My  only  wish  con- 
cerning it  is,  that  it  may  be  for  the  furtherance  of  the 
gospel.  We  know  so  little  of  the  great  plans  of  God, 
that  it  is  wisest  and  safest  and  sweetest  to  leave  all 
with  him." 

To  Mrs.  Banister. 

"March  25,  1846. 

"  I  wrote  to  Mrs.  Breese  of  R ,  Illinois,  last 

month,  making  inquiries  about  her  present  situation 
and  prospects.  She  writes,  in  reply,  *  I  am  now  teach- 
ing a  select  school  in  our  own  house,  sixteen  by  thirty 
feet,  one  story  and  a  half  high.  We  have  seventeen 
scholars,  eleven  of  whom  board  with  us.  I  sit  day 
after  day  with  my  babe,  a  large,  resolute  boy  of  five 
and  a  half  months,  in  my  arms,  teaching  them  as  well 
as  I  can.'  Mrs.  Breese  has  already  sent  out  a  few 
teachers  from  her  school,  and  several  more  are  p;:p- 
paring  for  the  same  avocation.  Most  of  them  could 
have  attended  school  nowhere  else.    Such  schools  as 


CORRESPONDENCE.  303 

Mrs.  Breese  is  teaching  must  do  much  for  the  West. 
The  larger  schools  cannot  meet  all  their  wants  ;  and 
if  such  a  one  as  hers  could  be  established  wherever 
pupils  could  be  collected  together,  or  even  where  the 
influence  of  a  home  missionary  is  felt,  much  would  be 
done  to  bless  our  nation." 

At  the  opening  of  the  school  in  the  autumn  of 
1846,  Miss  Lyon,  and  her  associate  Miss  Whitman, 
missed  from  their  ranks  three  of  their  most  valued 
fellow-laborers.  Miss  Abigail  Moore,*  Miss  Martha 
R.  Chapin,t  and  Miss  Lucy  Lyon,|  were  transfer- 
red that  year  from  their  work  in  the  seminary  to 
the  more  needy  field  in  Asia.  They  had  been  some 
years  engaged  in  aiding  others  to  prepare  for  the 
work  of  the  Lord  among  the  heathen.  They  now 
entered  upon  it  themselves.  Misses  Moore  and  Lyon 
were  affectionate  and  beloved  neices  of  Miss  Lyon. 

In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Banister,  Nov.  27,  1846,  Miss 
Lyon  says,  "  I  have  passed  through  many  scenes,  the 
last  year,  of  deep  and  tender  interest  to  me,  concen- 
trating the  feelings  of  many  years  into  one,  and  obvi- 
ously increasing  my  gray  hairs.  I  feel  the  loss  of  my 
two  nieces  very  much.  I  feel  the .  loss  socially  more 
than  in  our  business,  though  they  were  both  very 
important  to  the  school.  Mrs.  Burgess  has  gone,  and 
I  could  not,  as  I  expected,  go  with  her  to  Boston. 
It  came  so  near  the  time  of  commencing  school,  that 
I  thought  it  not  prudent  to  use  the  extra  strength  it 

*  Married,  Sept.,  1846,  to  Rev.  Ebenezer  Burgess,  Satara, 
India,  f  Married,  Sept.,  1846,  to  Rev.  Allen  Hazen,  Ah- 
mednuggnr,  India.  X  Married,  Sept.,  184C,  to  Rev.  Edward 
C.  Lord,  Missionary  to  China. 


804  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

"would  require,  especially  after  the  excitement  and 
fatigue  connected  with  so  great  changes  in  the  school. 
My  niece  Miss  Lyon  (now  Mrs.  Lord)  has  just  come 
to  make  us  her  last  visit.  She  and  her  husband  ex- 
pect to  sail  next  month  from  New  York  to  China.  I 
had  depended  on  going  to  be  with  her  a  little  while, 
at  the  time  of  her  sailing,  but  my  health  will  not 
allow." 

Miss  Lyon  and  Miss  Whitman  especially  missed 
the  cooperation  of  these  friends  and  assistants  in  labor- 
ing for  the  spiritual  good  of  their  charge. 

"  Then,"  says  Miss  Whitman,  "  when  we  felt  so 
■weak  from  losing  so  many  teachers  on  whom  we  had 
been  accustomed  to  lean,  the  Lord  showed  us  that  our 
host,  like  Gideon's,  was  yet  too  large.  Early  in  the 
year,  Miss  Lyon  was  confined  to  her  room  by  a  severe 
lung  affection  and  general  prostration.  She  was 
scarcely  able  to  speak  to  the  school  for  the  whole 
term.  The  morning  exercises  in  school  were  con- 
ducted by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hawks,  and  were  eminently 
blessed.  Among  the  impenitent  there  were  thirty 
old  scholars,  who  had  listened  to  Miss  Lyon's  instruc- 
tions, some  for  one,  others  for  two  years,  who,  it  was 
feared,  had  become  gospel  hardened.  Of  the  new 
scholars,  about  sixty  were  without  hope,  making  ninety 
in  all.  Miss  Lyon  had  been  accustomed  to  meet  this 
class  of  persons  on  Sabbath  evenings,  and  labor  with 
them  for  their  conviction  and  conversion.  The  teacher 
who  was  appointed  to  take  Miss  Lyon's  place  on  this 
occasion  met  them,  and  conducted  the  meeting  to  the 
best  of  her  ability.  She  went  from  the  meeting  dis- 
couraged and  despairing,  feeling  that  she  could  not 


CORRESPONDENCE.  305 

again  undertake  to  gain  the  attention  of  ninety  care- 
less, unconverted  persons  to  the  great  truths  of  the 
gospel.  Before  she  was  called  to  hold  another  such 
meeting,  sixty  of  the  number  were  rejoicing  in  a 
Christian  hope.  The  meeting  which  she  had  so  much 
dreaded  became  a  sweet  season  of  intimate  and  heav- 
enly communion.  Two  Sabbaths  had  intervened  be- 
tween these  meetings.  On  the  evening  of  the  first, 
the  impenitent  with  the  rest  of  the  school  had,  as 
usual,  attended  the  monthly  concert ;  and  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  second,  a  public  service  in  the  church  of 
the  village  had  supplied  the  place  of  Miss  Lyon's 
usual  meeting.  So  rapid  was  the  work,  that  at  the 
appointed  hours  Miss  Lyon's  large  parlor  was  crowd- 
ed with  anxious  inquirers.  One  of  the  teachers  as- 
sisted Miss  Lyon  by  asking  questions  to  ascertain 
their  state  of  mind  and  points  of  difficulty.  Miss 
Lyon  was  then  able,  in  a  weak  voice,  to  give  such 
general  instruction  as  would  meet  their  case. 

"  God  provided  a  supply  of  helpers  where  it  was 
least  looked  for.  A  circle  of  youthful  Christians, 
members  of  the  Middle  class,  banded  themselves  to- 
gether to  help  the  teachers  by  their  prayers  and  eflforts. 
Their  earnest  and  constant  labors  for  the  impenitent 
were,  next  to  the  public  religious  instruction,  the 
most  important  agency  employed  by  the  Spirit  in  the 
promotion  of  this  happy  work." 

From  a  journal  kept  at  the  seminary  for  the  mis- 
sionary sisters,  we  make  a  few  extracts  relative  to 
this  interesting  work  of  grace. 

"  Dec.  9.  To-day  Miss  Lyon  invited  to  her  room 
those  whose  hearts  were  moved  by  the  Spirit's  teach- 


306  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

ings.  Nineteen  were  present ;  most  seemed  deeply 
impressed.  We  canijot  but  feel  that  God  is  in  the 
midst  of  us.  Christians  are  beginning  to  pray  more 
earnestly.  Many  seem  prostrate  in  the  dust  before 
the  awful  presence  of  Him  who  searcheth  the  secrets 
of  every  soul. 

"Dec.  12.  Truly  this  has  been  a  day  of  blessing. 
Eight  are  now  expressing  a  hope  in  Christ.  The 
interest  appears  to  be  deepening  and  extending  every 
hour.  Thus  far,  those  who  have  indulged  hope  have 
been  principally  from  the  Middle  class.  In  fact  the 
interest  seemed  to  commence  there  with  a  few  praying 
hearts. 

"  Dec.  14.  Still  the  interest  is  increasing.  It 
goes  from  heart  to  heart  silently,  yet  powerfully. 
The  whole  house  is  as  still  as  on  the  Sabbath.  Every 
footstep  is  light — every  voice  is  hushed.  Several 
have  asked  to  be  excused  from  school  exercises,  so 
intense  are  their  feelings.  Many  in  the  Senior  class 
without  hope  begin  to  inquire  for  Him  who  is  the 
way,  the  truth,  and  the  life. 

"  Dec.  15.  There  are  now  more  than  twenty  who 
hope  they  have  found  the  Saviour  precious  as  he  never 
was  before.  Five  of  the  number  are  from  the  Senior 
class.  Some  of  the  most  careless  are  awakened,  and 
anxiously  inquire, '  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?' 

"  Dec.  16.  To-day  is  recreation  day  ;  but  it  has 
seemed  more  like  the  Sabbath.  We  can  only  say, 
God  is  here.  There  is  scarcely  one  who  is  indif- 
ferent. 

"  Dec.  18.  We  had  a  short  religious  exercise  in 
the  hall  this  afternoon.    Miss  Lyon's  word  to  us  was, 


COERESPONDENCE.  307 

'Say  little — pray  much.'  This  evening,  thirty-one 
who  trust  that  they  have  recently  consecrated  them- 
selves upon  the  altar  of  their  God,  met  for  a  prayer- 
meeting.  May  the  future  of  their  lives  prove  that 
this  sacrifice  is  no  partial  one. 

"  Dec.  25.    We  have  had  sad  tidings  to-day.   Miss 

B ,  one  of  our  teachers,  who  went  home  a  few 

weeks  ago  in  feeble  health,  has  been  summoned  to 
the  spirit  land.  Miss  Lyon  mourns  deeply  her  early 
removal.  She  had  anticipated  much  from  her.  But 
with  her  sweet  submission  she  says,  *  I  feel  that  it  is 
a  blessed  privilege  to  fit  dear  ones  for  heaven.'  With 
tears  coursing  down  her  cheeks,  she  added,  '  I  thank 
God  that  I  have  not  yet  heard  of  the  death  of  any 
pupil  of  this  beloved  seminary  who  was  without  hope 
in  Jesus.  If  any  have  died  thus,  I  have  been  spared 
the  trial  of  hearing  of  it. 

"Dec.  30.  The  Spirit  still  abides  with  us.  There 
have  been  signal  manifestations  of  God's  power  in 
this  revival.  '  Behold,  the  Lord  hath  passed  by  us, 
not  in  the  great  and  strong  wind,  not  in  the  earth- 
quake, not  in  the  fire,  but  in  the  still  small  voice.' " 

To  Hon.  D.  Safford. 

"  South  Hadley,  Dec.  3,  1846. 
"  My  health  is  much  better.  I  can  now  ride,  and 
I  am  taking  this  tonic  every  pleasant,  day  with  great 
advantage.  Let  me  know,  how  dear  Mrs.  Safford  is, 
when  you  write.  When  shall  I  set  my  eyes  on  your 
faces  again  ?  Perhaps  you  know  that  my.  niece  Lucy 
Lyon,  now  Mrs.  Lord,  is  going  to  China  on  a  mission 
under  the  Baptist  Board.  She  and  her  husband  are 
now  here,  making  their  last  visit.    They  sail  from 


308  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

New  York  some  time  this  month.  If  my  health  im- 
proves, I  may  go  and  be  with  them  at  the  time  they 
sail.  Perhaps  you  will  ask  why  I  do  not  sit  for  my 
portrait.  I  have  thought  of  it,  but  think  I  cannot  at 
this  time. 

"How  afflicting  is  the  providence  which  has  re- 
moved Dr.  Armstrong.  My  mind  dwells  much  on  his 
sudden  transition  to  his  eternal  home.  How  must 
that  world  of  glory  have  burst  on  his  astonished 
vision !  But  we  are  left  to  mourn.  Yet  let  us  re- 
member that  it  is  no  accident  which  has  taken  him 
away.  It  is  a  stroke  of  the  divine  hand,  planned, 
directed,  and  executed  by  infinite  wisdom  and  infi- 
nite goodness.  May  we  not  yet  see,  and  may  he  not 
even  now  see,  how  it  cofties  in  to  forward  the  great 
work  of  saving  a  lost  and  dying  world?  What  a 
place  does  Christ  occupy  as  an  atoning  sacrifice  in 
all  the  great  things  of  divine  Providence  1  What  a 
book  is  there  yet  to  be  opened  and  read  in  the  glo- 
rious doctrine  of  the  atonement  I" 

In  June,  1847,  Miss  Mary  S.  Rice,  who  had  been 
three  years  connected  with  the  seminary,  left  the 
country  to  join  Miss  Fiske  in  Oroomiah,  Persia.  In 
a  letter  which  Miss  Lyon  sent  to  Miss  Fiske  by  Miss 
Rice,  she  also  inclosed  one  for  Miss  Rice,  which  she 
might  receive  on  her  arrival.  We  give  a  part  of  the 
note  to  Miss  Fiske,  and  the  note  to  Miss  Rice. 

"SoDTH  IIadlet,  June  16, 1847. 
My  deab,  my  very  dear  Miss  Fiske — How  I 
should  love,  if  I  ever  did  such  a  thing,  to  write  you  a 
long  letter.    I  would  not  try  to  repeat  the  many  pass- 
ing events  which  I  hope  some  of  your  kind  friends 


CORRESPONDENCE.  -  309 

continue  to  tell  you.  Nor  would  I  tell  you  any 
new  truth,  nor  any  new  duty,  nor  any  new  prom- 
ise, nor  any  new  encouragement  to  labor  and  suflTer 
for  Christ's  sake.  I  would  not  attempt  to  point  out 
to  you  any  new  resting-place  for  the  feet  of  weary 
pilgrims  on  their  way  to  the  celestial  city.  No  ;  I 
would  only  repeat,  if  I  could,  a  few  of  the  many  and 
precious  things  which  you  already  know,  and  on  which 
your  heart  now  delights  to  dwell.  I  would  only, 
while  I  am  in  this  tabernacle,  now  and  then  write 
you  a  few  words,  stirring  you  up  by  way  of  remem- 
brance. I  would  have  you,  after  my  decease,  also 
have  these  things  always  in  remembrance. 

"  How  I  should  love  to  tell  you  how  a  kind  Prov- 
idence has  led  me  along  ever  since  last  we  met,  and 
last  parted  ;  how  one  comfort  has  been  taken  away, 
and  another  granted  ;  how  good,  very  good  God  has 
been  to  us ;  and  how  the  promise,  '  As  thy  days,  so 
shall  thy  strength  be,'  has  never  failed. 

"  Finally,  I  skould  love  to  tell  you  how  my  heart 
goes  with  Miss  Rice,  as  I  seem  to  send  her  forth  as 
one  of  my  own  children ;  how  I  now  commend  her 
to  you,  to  your  acquaintance,  to  your  love,  to  your 
sympathy,  to  your  prayers,  to  a  participation  in  all 
your  labors,  your  joys,  and  your  sorrows.  May  you 
both  live  long,  together  be  abundant  in  labors,  ear- 
nest in  prayer,  and  rich  in  faith,  and  at  last  may  you 
receive  a  crown  of  glory  which  shall  never  fade 
away. 

"  My  very  affectionate  regards  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Perkins.  Many  thanks  for  what  he  has  written  me 
in  days  that  are  past.    Will  he  not  write  me  again  ? 


310  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

Ask  him  to  be  a  father  to  another  of  my  daugh 
ters." 

"  South  Hadlet,  June  17, 1847. 

"  My  deab  Miss  Rice — When  Miss  Fiske  shall  hand 
you  this  little  note  you  will  be  far,  far  away.  Kind 
Providence  preserving  your  life,  I  trust  this  will  find 
you  in  your  new,  your  chosen,  your  adopted  home. 

"  Your  eyes  will  there  look  on  the  same  glorious 
sun,  the  same  beautiful  moon,  and  the  same  sparkling 
stars,  that  ours  do  in  your  own  native  land.  Will  it 
not  be  pleasant,  when  you  are  removed  from  all  that 
once  met  your  eyes,  to  look  up  to  the  heavens,  and 
think  that  the  eyes  of  your  father  and  your  mother 
may  be  looking  at  the  same  objects  ?  But  nearer  than 
this  can  we  come  together,  when  we  approach  the 
mercy-seat.  You  will  be  no  farther  from  that  pre- 
cious place  of  resort,  no  farther  from  your  God,  no 
farther  from  your  last  and  best  home  in  heave;i.  My 
dear,  dear  friend,  be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and 
thou  shalt  have  a  crown  of  life."       • 

To  Mrs.  Banister. 

"South  Hadlet,  April  27, 1848. 

"  We  have  again  received  a  spiritual  blessing  in 
our  family,  according  to  the  riches  of  the  grace  of 
Jesus  Christ.  During  our  first  term,  about  fifty  ex- 
pressed hope.  During  the  last  term,  there  has  been 
a  continued,  gradual,  progressive  interest.  Some  one 
case  of  hope  has  occurred  nearly  every  week ;  still, 
there  are  about  thirty  without  hope." 

"June  5.  Will  you  not  come  and  make  us  a  visit 
the  week  of  our  anniversary  ?  It  happens  the  first 
Thursday  in  August.    The  examination  will  occupy 


CORRESPONDENCE.  »       311 

two  or  three  days  preceding.  You  have  a  standing 
invitation  to  oome,  and  I  enjoy  the  belief  that  you 
always^  will  if  you  can.  I  do  not  know  that  you  can 
realize  what  a  great  pleasure  it  is  to  me  to  have  your- 
self and  husband  with  us  on  these  occasions. 

"  Our  dear  Mr.  Condit — ^I  am  reminded  of  him 
every  way;  I  shall  be  especially  at  the  time  of  our 
anniversary.  I  loved  him  as  a  friend  on  earth ;  if  pos- 
sible, my  spirit  loves  him  more  as  a  friend  in  heaven. 
His  memory  is  precious,  very  precious.  But  we  have 
another  man  of  God  in  his  stead,  Mr.  Laurie.  For 
this  I  would  thank  God.  I  should  love  to  tell  you  all 
about  the  dealings  of  our  heavenly  Father  in  bringing 
him  here,  in  helping  him  along,  and  the  various  occur- 
rences, all  interesting  to  my  own  feelings,  connected 
with  his  becoming  our  pastor.  But  this  I  must  leave 
till  I  have  the  privilege  of  communing  with  you  face 
to  face. 

"  I  have  recently  been  reading,  or  rather,  am  now 
reading  McCheyne's  '  Life,  Letters,  and  Lectures.'  It 
is  just  what  I  need — the  sincere  milk  dealt  out  in 
childlike  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity.  It  is  just 
what  I  need  to  feed  and  refresh  me  when  I  am  so 
tired  that  I  can  do  nothing  with  strong  meat.  With 
my  feeble  strength,  and  with  the  burden  laid  upon  me, 
I  feel  that  henceforth  my  reading  must  be  mostly  for 
another  world.  I  do  want  to  commune  more  with 
your  spirit  on  earth  before  we  go  home  to  our  rest  in 
heaven." 

September  1,  1848,  Miss  Lyon  addressed  to  her 
pupils  on  heathen  ground  the  following  letter : 


312  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

"My  dear  Missionary  Daughters — It  has  been 
a  gratification  to  me  that  you  have  received,  through 

Miss  W 'a  instrumentality,  the  journal  so  long 

kept  by  the  pen  of  dear  Miss  T ,  who  is  now  to  be 

one  of  your  number.  I  have  enjoyed  the  thought  that 
you  would  thus  keep  along  with  the  little  occurrences 
at  your  Holyoke  home.  Often  have  I  desired  to  beg 
the  privilege  of  inserting  a  little  note,  with  the  salu- 
tation of  mine  own  hand.  But  communion  like  this, 
even  '  with  ink  and  pen,'  I  seldom  can  enjoy  upon  earth. 
There  is  one  place  of  meeting,  of  sweet  conmiun- 
ion  of  spirit,  when  absent  in  body.  There  I  love  to 
ask  our  heavenly  Father  to  bless  you  all,  to  bless  you 
individually  in  your  work,  to  bless  the  dear  compan- 
ions of  your  missionary  joys  and  your  missionary  toils, 
and  to  bless  too  the  children  whom  God  has  given 
you  in  the  land  of  your  adoption.  But  there  is  an- 
other and  better  home  than  this.  There  I  trust  we 
shall  all  meet,  and  hold  such  communion  as  earth  has 
never  known.  May  you  all  have  grace  to  run  with 
patience  the  race  set  before  you,  looking  unto  Jesus 
in  all  your  missionary  course. 

"As  you  will  learn.  Miss  W had  it  in  her 

heart  to  keep  the  journal  for  you  this  year  herself. 
But  Providence  has  otherwise  decided.  Her  health 
will  not  allow  her  even  to  be  an  observer  of  the 
events  at  your  former  happy  home.  I  anticipated 
much  pleasure  to  herself  in  writing,  and  to  you  in 
reading  from  the  pen  of  her  whom  you  all  know  and 
love.    To  supply  her  place,  my  thoughts  have  rested 

on  Misses  H and  C ,  as  being  those  whom 

you  all  remember.     They  have  consented  to  take  it. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  313 

"In  this  arrangement  I  am  very  happy,  as  you 
will  feel  more  the  link  of  friendship  than  if  coming 
from  the  pen  of  one  whom  you  have  never  seen.  With 
some  of  you  they  were  class-mates,  seat-mates,  or  room- 
mates. With  others  of  you  they  were  fellow-teachers, 
striving  with  you  for  the  upbuilding  of  Christ's  king- 
dom in  this  little  miniature  of  a  world.  You  will 
feel  more  sure  of  their  personal  sympathy,  because 
while  writing  for  you  they  are  writing  also  for  a  dear 
brother  and  sister  far  off  in  India.  You  will  remem- 
ber that  we  expect  from  you  a  return.  We  are  aware 
of  the  effort  this  must  cost  you  amid  all  your  other 
cares  and  abundant  labors.  But  we  trust  that  this 
effort  will  not  be  in  vain,  as  a  small  item  in  your 
missionary  work.  While  I  am  writing  this,  I  am 
forcibly  reminded  of  the  probability  that  one  of  your 
number  will  never  read  it — one  dear  to  my  heart,  my 
only  sister's  own  daughter,  and  to  me  a  daughter  in- 
deed, and  even  more  than  a  daughter.  Yes,  I  think 
from  day  to  day  of  dear  Mrs.  Burgess  as  now  in  heav- 
en ;  though  it  is  possible,  in  the  events  of  Providence, 

that  her  life  is  spared.     Mrs.  W too,  another 

of  our  missionary  band,  has  finished  her  short  work, 
and  gone  home  to  her  rest.  May  you  who  still  live 
work  while  the  day  lasts,  and  may  you  long  be  spared, 
and  yet  gather  in  many  sheaves  from  the  opening 
fields,  which  are  now  white  and  ready  for  the  har- 
vest. While  life  and  memory  are  spared,  you  will 
be  remembered  and  loved  by  me." 

In  September,  1848,  Miss  Lyon  passed  an  hour  or 
two  at  Springfield  with  her  old  friends  Mrs.  Ezekiel 
Russell,  then  of  that  place,  and  Mrs.  Miron  Winslow 

Mary  Lyoa.  1 4 


314  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

of  Madras,  formerly  the  Misses  Billings  of  Conway. 
Both  of  them  had  been  pupils  of  Miss  Lyon,  and  Mrs. 
Russell  had  also  been  one  of  her  assistant  teachers  in 
the  Buckland  and  Ashfield  schools.  From  Mrs.  Rus- 
sell we  have  the  following  notice  of  that  visit : 

"  Miss  Lyon  was  spending  the  day  in  Springfield, 
and  while  walking  the  street,  she  unexpectedly  met 
my  sister  Mrs.  Winslow,  then  on  the  eve  of  her  sec- 
ond departure  for  India.  Perceiving  that  this  was  a 
last  occasion  for  an  interview  with  one  of  her  pupils, 
she  readily  accepted  an  invitation  to  take  tea  with  us. 
At  the  table  was  a  gentleman  who  attended  school 
with  her  at  the  academy  in  Ashfield.  Many  years 
had  since  passed.  He  was  at  that  time  a  mere  lad, 
and  on  one  occasion  had  played  the  part  of  Moses 
in  the  bulrushes,  while  she  took  the  part  of  the 
mother.  The  scene  was  revived,  and  along  with  it  a 
train  of  circumstances  and  events  on  which  her  active 
mind  and  warm  heart  expatiated  with  an  interest  pe- 
culiar to  herself.  The  efi"ect  on  her  was  electric  ;  and 
the  whole  company  at  the  table  felt  the  power  of  the 
current  as  it  passed  along  the  invisible  wires  of  thought 
and  feeling. 

"  The  founder  of  that  school  in  Ashfield,  said  she, 
was  a  man  of  genuine  benevolence.  He  was  in  the 
habit  of  visiting  the  different  schools  of  the  town,  and 
when  he  did,  his  eye  was  sure  to  fix  on  every  promis- 
ing scholar,  and  a  word  was  dropped  that  never  failed 
to  awaken  brighter  hopes  and  give  fresher  vigor  in 
the  work  of  acquisition.  Perceiving  that  many  were 
in  moderate  circumstances,  and  could  not  be  sent 
abroad  for  the  purpose  of  an  education,  he  founded 


CORRESPONDENCE.  315 

that  academy,  the  genial  influences  of  which,  she  re- 
marked, first  wakened  to  life  her  own  mental  ener- 
gies, and  gave  her  an  impulse  that  had  never  ceased. 
That  institution,  she  continued,  has  done  immense 
good.  Many  who  otherwise  would  never  have  had 
access  to  any  thing  worthy  the  name  of  literary  ad- 
vantages, received  there  the  first  rudiments  of  an  ed- 
ucation. In  that  quiet  retreat  among  the  hills,  the 
intellect  was  stirred,  the  taste  refined,  and  intensity 
given  to  the  desire  for  knowledge.  To  mind  and 
heart,  that  institution  was  what  the  mountain  airs  are 
to  the  physical  powers.  And  I  can  perceive,  she  said, 
that  those  who  have  gone  forth  from  it  have  bright- 
ened and  cheered  and  blessed  the  pathways  which 
they  have  trod.  It  was  a  sunny  scene  that  opened  on 
her  view  at  the  table,  and  all  seemed  to  share  with 
her  in  the  exhilaration. 

"  How  thankful  ought  I  to  be,  she  continued,  on 
returning  to  the  parlor,  for  the  incidents  that  have 
revived  these  pleasant  portions  of  my  life.  This  was 
unexpected.  My  duties  for  years  have  been  so  urgent, 
and  my  cares  so  pressing,  as  to  shut  these  past  scenes 
from  my  thoughts.  But  seeing  you,  Mrs.  Winslow, 
and  your  sister,  brings  before  me,  fresh  as  yesterday, 
those  winter  scenes  in  my  Ashfield  and  Buckland 
schools,  over  which  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God  hov- 
ered, and  moved  in  the  bosom  of  many  a  pupil,  I  trust, 
the  pulsations  of  that  life  which  is  spiritual  and  eter- 
nal.    And  my  friend  here,  Mr.  S ,  once  the  infant 

in  the  bulrushes,  has  carried  me  still  farther  back  in  my 
career,  and  made  the  morning  shine  on  the  noon,  or 
the  evening,  as  I  now  begin  to  think  it  is,  of  my  life. 


316  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

Something  of  this  I  have  before  experienced.  Former 
pupils  have  often  met  me,  whose  countenances  had 
faded  from  my  recollection,  when  the  mention  of  their 
names  would  flash  whole  trains  of  delightful  associa- 
tions upon  my  mind.  This,  I  apprehend,  will  be  one 
source  of  our  happiness  in  heaven.  As  we  move  to 
and  fro  amid  the  myriads  there  gathered  on  the  mount 
of  vision,  we  shall  meet  one  after  another,  now  forgot- 
ten, who  will  bring  different  portions  of  our  lives  to 
our  recollection,  filling  us  with  untold  wonder  and 
joy.  Oh,  I  love  to  think  of  the  joy  in  reserve  for  the 
righteous,  and  of  the  various  sources  of  it  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  Redeemer,  who  is  himself  the  crowning 
attraction  of  heaven.  Mrs.  Winslow  replied,  Your 
pupils  are  going  up  to  participate  in  this  joy  from  all 
quarters  of  the  globe,  and  it  must  be  pleasant  for  you 
to  think  of  it.  Yes,  was  her  answer,  I  often  think  of 
the  happiness  of  being  permitted,  through  grace,  to 
welcome  one  after  another,  as  they  finish  the  toils  of 
earth,  to  the  rest  of  heaven. 

"  My  fiftieth  birthday,  she  continued,  was  the  most 
solemn  day  of  my  life.  I  devoted  it  to  reflection  and 
prayer.  I  felt  that  half  a  century  had  been  given  me 
for  exertion,  that  opportunities  had  been  furnished 
for  usefulness  in  a  noble  sphere,  and  my  heart  went 
up  to  God  in  grateful  praise  that  he  had  enabled  me 
to  bear  such  burdens,  sustain  such  toils,  and  accom- 
plish something,  as  I  devoutly  trust,  for  the  good  of 
the  world  and  the  cause  of  Christ.  Half  a  century ! 
The  thought  all  but  overwhelmed  me.  Yet  it  had 
been  given  me,  and  it  was  gone — gone  with  its  burdens, 
its  toils,  and  its  scenes  of  precious,  thrilling  delight. 


.     CORRESPONDENCE.  317 

I  was  sensible  of  deficiencies,  of  great  deficiencies. 
These  I  regretted.  But  I  could  not  regret  that  the 
toil  of  half  a  century  had  ended.  It  was  certain  that 
another  such  period  of  exertion — of  cheerful  exertion 
it  had  always  been  to  me — would  never  be  allotted 
on  earth.  I  was  certain  that  before  another  fifty 
years  should  elapse,  I  should  wake  up  amid  far  dififer- 
erent  scenes,  and  far  other  thoughts  would  fill  my 
mind,  and  other  employments  would  engage  my  at- 
tention. 

"You,  Mrs.  Winslow,  are  to  be  separated  from 
your  children.  But  it  is  a  sacrifice  for  Christ.  In 
heaven,  we  shall  never  regret  any  sacrifice  however 
painful,  or  labor  however  protracted,  made  or  per- 
formed here  for  his  cause." 

In  December,  1848,  Miss  Lyon  addressed  to  Miss 
Hannah  White  the  following  kind  and  sympathizing 
letter  on  the  death  of  her  parents. 

"  South  Hadlet,  Dec.  14, 1848. 

"  Mt  very  dear  Friend — I  have  received  your 
letter,  and  should  have  replied  immediately,  but  I 
wanted  to  write  a  little,  besides  on  mere  business.  I 
wanted  at  least  to  express  a  little. of  that  full  heart  of 
sympathy  which  I  have  had  in  your  behalf.  But  now 
a  severe  headache  on  the  one  hand,  and  a  conviction 
that  I  must  not  let  another  mail  pass  on  the  other, 
will  give  me  but  little  opportunity.  Allow  me  to  say, 
that  in  the  bereavements  through  which  you  have 
passed,  I  too  have  felt  that  I  had  lost  a  father  and  a 
mother.  Who  else  living  has  any  such  claim,  com- 
paratively, to  a  place  in  my  heart?  These  events 
have  thought  fresh  to  my  mind  my  first  acquaintance 


318  LIFE  OF  MAEY  LYON. 

with  your  dear  family,  and  the  many  acts  of  unfeigned 
friendship  which  I  received,  as  I  was  creeping  my 
way  along  towards  an  humble  place  in  my  Master's 
service.  In  a  very  special  manner  do  I  remember 
your  father's  great  parental  kindness  to  me.  With 
what  a  cheering  face  would  he  ask  me  to  come  direct- 
ly to  his  house  from  the  stage,  and  depend  on  him  to 
carry  me  to  see  my  dear  mother,  just  as  if  he  expected 
it,  and  in  a  way  to  make  me  feel  perfectly  at  home. 
Your  house  has  indeed  been  to  me  a  sweet  home.  I 
must  go  and  see  that  dear  home  before  it  is  broken 
up, 

**  I  have  many  things  which  I- want  to  say,  but  can- 
not with  pen  and  ink.  Shortly,  I  hope,  I  may  see 
you  face  to  face.  If  there  is  any  time  when  I  should 
not  find  you  at  home,  please  write  and  let  me  know. 
I  wish  I  could  meet  your  brother,  and  his  wife  also, 
it  would  seem  so  much  like  meeting  a  remnant  of  the 
family." 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Hawks  writes,  October,  1857,  "It 
was  my  blessed  privilege  to  be  associated  with  Miss 
Lyon  for  fourteen  years.  Nothing  she  ever  said  or 
did  gave  me  the  idea  that  she  thought  of  what  would 
be  for  her  interest,  her  ease,  comfort,  or  reputation, 
except  as  identified  with  the  great  object  on  which 
her  heart  was  set.  I  regard  her  as  a  most  remarka- 
ble woman,  and  believe  the  revelations  of  eternity  will 
show  her  to  have  been  among  the  most  distinguished 
benefactors  of  her  race.  When  will  such  another  ap- 
pear? I  am  thankful  that  so  good  a  memoir  of  her 
has  been  obtained." 


THE  LAST  LETTERS.  319 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  LAST  LETTERS,  THE  LAST  VISIT,  THE  LAST 
INSTRUCTION,  AND  THE  DEPARTUBE. 

Thus  successfully  have  we  seen  the  great  enter- 
prise to  which  Miss  Lyon  had  consecrated  the  vigor 
of  her  days  carried  forward  for  nearly  twelve  years. 
But  the  hour  of  release  was  at  hand,  and  we  cannot 
but  feel  a  deep  interest  to  witness  the  close  of  a  life 
so  happy  and  useful.  A  few  weeks  before  her  last 
sickness,  God  seems  to  have  led  her  to  her  chosen 
retreat  in  Monson,  that  she  might  enjoy  a  favorable 
opportunity  of  preparation  for  her  departure.  The 
tone  of  the  following  letters  shows  how  well  she  im- 
proved it,  though  God  mercifully  hid  his  purpose  from 
her.  She  thought  the  opportunity  she  enjoyed  was 
intended  to  prepare  her  for  usefulness  on  earth;  he 
meant  it  to  fit  her  for  a  higher  sphere. 

To  Mrs.  Burgess. 

"  Monson,  Jan.  20, 1849. 
"My  VERY  DEAR  NiECE — Here  I  am  again  with 
my  dear  Mrs.  Porter.  She  proposes  that  we  should 
again  write  a  joint  letter  to  comfort  you  in  your  pil- 
grimage and  voluntary  exile  for  Christ's  sake.  This 
I  am  very  happy  to  do,  though  I  think  it  will  not  take 
a  very  large  part  of  the  sheet  to  assure  you  of  my  con- 
tinued remembrance  of  you,  and  of  former  scenes.  I 
wrote  once  before  in  Mrs.  Porter's  letter,  two  years 
ago.  I  have  scarcely  had  a  vacation  of  any  sort  since 
then.  But  I  am  now  enjoying  an  old-fashioned  vaca- 
tion of  reed  rest  in  this  sweetest  of  all  resting-places. 


320  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

Miss  Hazen  proposed  to  stay  and  take  all  the  care, 
and  let  me  go  away.  I  decided  to  accept.  I  began 
a  week  beforehand  to  arrange  all  things.  I  had  my 
plans  made  out  in  writing,  and  left  all  behind  me. 
Here  I  can  quietly  read,  write  letters,  ride,  and  visit, 
with  nothing  to  annoy  me,  and  with  scarcely  a  thought 
of  home,  except  as  I  attempt  to  send  up  my  feeble 
petitions  that  the  Holy  Spirit  may  come  down  and 
dwell  with  us.  This  is  the  more  remarkable,  as  Miss 
Whitman  is  away.  But  one  providence  meets  an- 
other. I  had  many  things  planned  and  arranged 
last  year  for  this,  so  that  this  proves  one  of  the  easiest 
years.     Such  years  come  along  now  and  then. 

"  My  health  has  been  unusually  good  this  year, 
thus  far.  So  unlike  has  it  been  to  the  winter  after 
you  left  us,  that  I  have  great  cause  for  gratitude. 
But  at  all  times,  whether  I  have  more  or  less  strength, 
I  feel  that  I  am  fast  hastening  to  my  eternal  home, 
my  home  of  rest  in  the  bosom  of  my  God,  as  I  hope. 
Still,  I  trust  I  may  have  a  little  more  work  to  do  on 
earth,  and  that  little  may  I  do  faithfully.  By  grace 
I  am  the  little  that  I  am,  and  by  grace  alone  would 
I  do  the  little  that  I  hope  to  do.  The  doctrine  of 
grace,  in  all  its  aspects  and  relations,  is  more  and 
more  precious  here;  and  what  will  it  be  hereafter, 
when  we  shall  be  permitted  to  join  in  that  song  of 
Moses  and  the  Lamb  to  Him  who  has  redeemed  us, 
and  washed  our  robes,  and  made  them  white  in  his 
own  blood  I  By  grace  we  are  redeemed,  by  grace  we 
are  saved,  by  grace  we  are  received  and  sanctified, 
by  grace  we  have  our  work  given  us,  and  by  grace 
strength  and  a  heart  to  do  it. 


THE  LAST  LETTERS.  321 

"  My  work  is  made  up,  as  you  know,  of  an  endless 
number  of  nameless  duties  interwoven  if  not  confused 
together.  But  still  my  work  is  a  good  work.  By  the 
enduring  grace  of  God,  am  I  permitted  to  enjoy  such 
a  goodly  heritage  of  toil  and  labor.  Every  hour  I 
feel  not  only  the  need  of  divine  aid  to  lead  me,  but 
of  an  internal,  divine  power,  to  carry  me  along  in  the 
right  path.  It  is  ever  a  pathway  of  grace,  unmerited 
grace.  When  I  am  about  my  work,  sometimes  called 
unexpectedly  and  suddenly  from  one  thing  to  another, 
I  whisper  in  my  heart,  '  Lord,  help  me  to  be  patient, 
help  me  to  remember,  and  help  me  to  be  faithful. 
Lord,  enable  me  to  do  all  for  Christ's  sake,  and  to  go 
forward,  leaning  on  the  bosom  of  his  infinite  grace.' 
How  amazing  is  that  goodness  that  allows  us  to  do 
all  for  Christ's  sake,  and  always  to  pray  in  his  name ! 
May  you  experience  largely  of  that  grace  which  alone 
can  make  your  spared  life  a  blessing. 

"  Much  love  to  Mr.  Burgess,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hazen, 
Mrss.  Wilder  and  Fairbanks,  and  Mrs.  Ballantine. 
The  thought  is  pleasant  to  me  that  an  early  friend  of 
mine  is  your  fellow-laborer."* 

To  Miss  Whitman. 

"MoNSON,  Jan.  22, 1849. 
"  During  two  or  three  years  past,  I  have  been  try- 
ing to  mature  in  the  literary  department  the  changes 
which  sprung  up  in  the  agitation  of  the  waters  on 
Miss  Moore's  leaving,  and  I  have  been  trying  to  ma- 
ture things,  too,  in  the  domestic  department.  I  had 
every  thing  about  ready  for  the  work  of  this  year, 

*  Mrs.  Ballantme,  a  pupil  in  the  school  at  Deny  and  at 
Ipswich. 

.      14* 


322  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

without  much  planning,  or  agitation,  or  change. 
Thus  it  has  come  to  pass  that  this  has  been  the  easi- 
est year  we  have  almost  ever  had;  and  that  this 
easy  year  should  come  right  along  when  you  are 
called  away  in  Providence,  is  surely  no  planning  of 
mine.  So  it  is.  If  one  thing  is  made  comfortable 
and  easy,  we  may  expect  some  corresponding  trial. 
If  trials  and  perplexities  come,  then  we  may  look 
for  some  comforting,  consoling  providence.  We  may 
always  expect  enough  of  trial  and  difficulties  to  make 
us  love  to  sing, 

" '  Is  this,  dear  Lord,  that  thorny  road 
That  leads  us  to  the  mount  of  God  ?' 

and  enough  of  consolation  and  support  and  blessing 
to  make  us  feel  that  Christ's  yoke  is  easy  and  his  bur- 
den light. 

"  I  feel  rather  anxious  about  you,  and  shall  till  I 
hear  again.  I  shall  not  send  this  sheet  till  I  hear 
from  you.  My  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God  is, 
that  you  may  be  kept  in  the  arms  of  Him  who  never 
slumbereth  nor  sleepeth,  and  who  numbereth  the  very 
hairs  of  our  heads.  I  pray  that  you  may  experience 
much  of  the  grace  of  God  in  body,  soul,  and  spirit. 
As  for  me,  I  always  carry  about  enough  of  myself  to 
be  a  fit  occasion  for  loathing  and  abhorrence,  for  dis- 
trusting myself,  and  casting  off  all  confidence  in  the 
flesh.  But  from  day  to  day,  I  think  I  do  find  crumbs 
enough  falling  from  the  table  to  prove  the  infinite 
mercy  and  long-suflfering  of  God,  and  enough  to  prove 
the  exceeding  grace  of  the  gospel,  and  enough  of 
strength  in  times  of  extremity  to  prove  that  there  is 
an  arm  on  which  we  may  lean  with  safety.    I  want  to 


THE  LAST  LETTERS.  323 

ask  you  to  pray  for  me  in  a  very  special  manner  about 
one  thing.  It  is  for  divine  guidance  and  strength  in 
giving  religious  instruction.  Pray  that  I  may  have 
hid  in  my  own  heart  all  that  I  attempt  to  say.  Pray 
that  I  may  speak  the  words  of  truth,  every  jot  and 
tittle — that  which  God  sees  and  knows  to  be  truth. 
Pray  that  hearts  may  receive  the  truth  in  honesty, 
sincerity,  and  faith.  Pray  that  in  these  seasons,  God 
may  be  magnified  and  glorified.  We  have  great  rea- 
son to  fear  and  tremble  about  our  next  term.  Vaca- 
tion came  just  as  the  religious  interest  seemed  to  be 
spreading  from  heart  to  heart.  Miss  Hazen  will  write 
you  all  general  facts,  I  suppose.  Between  twenty  and 
thirty  expressed  hope.  I  miss  you  most  of  all  in  the 
care  of  souls.  But  we  know  not  how  much  you  may 
do  by  your  prayers." 

In  her  last  letter  to  her  friend  and  associate  Miss 
Whitman,  dated  the  15th  of  February,  she  says : 

"  I  need  not  tell  you  we  were  much  gratified  last 
evening  in  receiving  a  letter  from  Miss  Whitman. 
First  I  thank  God  for  your  expressed  desires  to  live 
for  God  alone.  Next  would  I  thank  him  for  your 
continued  desire  to  spend  your  strength  for  the  good 
of  this  precious  institution,  the  founding  and  building 
up  of  which  I  feel  more  and  more  to  be  the  handiwork 
of  God.  I  trust  that  you  will  have  fifteen  years  add- 
ed to  your  life,  if  we  will  all  sufier  the  trial  of  your 
taking  a  thorough  rest  and  recruiting  now.  I  hope 
fifteen  years,  too,  will  be  granted  to  you  after  I  shall 
cease  from  my  labors." 

Suggesting  a  course  for  Miss  Whitman,  in  her 
feeble  state  of  health,  she  says,  "  I  have  thought  that 


324  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

during  the  vacation  in  the  autumn,  we  might  journey 
together,  or  visit  and  read  together,  or  both,  some- 
where among  the  mountains  and  in  the  quiet  valleys 
of  New  England.  So  you  see  that  I  am  calculating 
on  quite  a  resting  time  next  autumn  myself." 

And  indeed  she  found  that  "resting  time,"  but 
not  on  earth.  It  was  among  celestial  scenery  that 
her  autumn  and  her  eternity  were  to  be  spent,  and  in 
sweet  converse  with  her  Saviour  and  with  some  of  the 
spirits  whom  she  had  been  instrumental  in  guiding  to 
that  blessed  world.  Often  had  her  thoughts  turned 
to  that  better  land  with  strong  desire ;  but  it  is  obvi- 
ous she  did  not  deem  it  so  near.  One  week  previous 
she  had  said  in  a  note  to  Miss  Whitman,  "  I  often  feel 
a  longing  of  heart  to  sit  down  and  tell  you  some  of 
my  joys,  or  sorrows,  or  anxieties.  Then  I  feel  that 
you  are  absent  indeed.    But  I  get  along.    Sometimes 

I  make  a  substitute  of  Miss ,  sometimes  I  ponder 

all  in  my  own  heart  alone,  and  always  I  endeavor  to 
go  to  Him  who  can  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our 
infirmities.  This  world  is  to  be  used  faithfully  and 
diligently,  but  only  as  a  waymark  to  that  better  home, 
where,  I  trust,  we  shall  rejoice  together  over  many 
dear  ones  gathered  into  our  Father's  house." 

Thus  in  her  favorite  retreat  in  Monson,  whither 
she  so  often  resorted  to  escape  from  care  and  labor 
and  refresh  her  weary  spirit  as  with  heavenly  manna, 
did  Miss  Lyon  write  what  proved  to  be  her  farewell 
letters,  to  some  of  her  oldest  and  dearest  friends.  Wo 
give  Mrs.  Porter's  account  of  her  first,  and  of  her  last 
Tisit. 

"  My  first  acquaintance  with  Miss  Mary  Lyon  was 


THE  LAST  VISIT.  325 

in  the  spring  of  1836.  On  answering  myself  to  the 
door-bell  on  a  snowy  day,  a  stranger  lady  stood  be- 
fore me.  She  introduced  herself  as  Mary  Lyon  of 
Ipswich,  and  remarked  that  the  gentleman  with  whom 
she  came  had  driven  round  to  the  carriage-house  on 
account  of  the  storm.  I  was  prepared  to  give  her  a 
cordial  reception,  having  a  high  regard  for  Miss  Grant 
and  Miss  Lyon,  as  principals  of  the  Ipswich  seminary ; 
but  what  could  have  led  her  there  that  stormy  day,  I 
could  not  think.  Soon  the  Rev.  Mr.  Tyler,  an  ac- 
quaintance of  ours,  came  in  and  introduced  her,  inquir- 
ing if  Mr.  Porter  was  at  home.  I  replied,  '  He  is 
gone  to  Boston,  but  we  expect  him  home  this  even- 
ing.' Some  regret  was  expressed,  but  Miss  Lyon 
immediately  remarked,  *  Providence  orders  all  things 
right.'  As  soon  as  outside  garments  were  disposed 
of,  she  with  much  animation  told  me  in  brief  their 
errand.  '  You  have  probably  heard,'  she  says,  '  of 
the  contemplated  female  seminary,'  mentioning  its 
principles.  I  told  her  I  had  heard  something  of  it, 
and  had  read  some  articles  in  print,  in  which  I  was 
mudi  interested.  She  proceeded  :  *  The  trustees  met 
yesterday.  We  have  arrived  now  at  a  point  where 
we  cannot  proceed  much  farther  till  a  gentleman  is 
found  to  superintend  the  erection  of  the  building. 
An  act  of  incorporation  has  been  obtained  the  past 
winter,  and  the  town  in  which  it  is  to  be  located  has 
been  decided  on  ;  a  gentleman  is  needed  whose  busi- 
ness talents  have  been  tested,  who  has  had  experience 
in  building,  and  one  in  whose  integrity  the  community 
would  have  confidence  ;  one,  too,  who  would  do  it  witJUr 
out  remuneration,  for  there  are  not  sufficient  funds  to 


826  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

devote  any  to  that  purpose ;  and  it  is  all  a  work  of 
benevolence.  Last  evening  your  husband  was  men- 
tioned to  the  trustees,  as  one  to  whom  it  was  best 
that  application  should  be  made.  Rev.  Messrs.  Hawks 
and  Tyler  were  appointed  to  wait  on  him,  and  I  was 
requested  to  accompany  them.  Now,  do  you  know 
of  any  thing  in  his  business,  health,  or  views,  that 
you  think  would  prevent  his  considering  the  sub- 
ject ?'  I  told  her  he  had  suffered  much  the  past  year 
from  a  nervous  headache,  and  had  decided  on  a  long 
journey  to  the  far  west  as  soon  as  travelling  would 
allow,  to  try  the  effect  of  relaxation  and  journeying. 
Aside  from  that,  I  should  expect  he  would  at  least 
consider  the  subject. 

"Mr.  Hawks,  who  had  now  arrived,  Mr.  Tyler, 
and  Miss  Lyon  held  a  consultation,  and  it  was  decided 
the  gentlemen  should  leave  to  attend  to  their  Sabbath 
appointments,  and  Miss  Lyon  remain,  as  I  had  invited 
her  to  do,  till  the  next  week.  One  of  the  gentlemen 
was  to  return  on  Monday.  Miss  Lyon  remarked,  '  If 
the  enterprise  is  to  go  forward,  the  Lord  has  some 
one  provided  for  this  service,  and  it  may  be  Mr.  Por- 
ter, and  it  may  not.' 

"After  tea  she  proposed  going  to  her  room,  as 
Mr.  Porter  would  be  fatigued  when  he  arrived,  and 
she  had  been  up  till  a  late  hour  the  night  previous. 

"  Not  a  word  was  said  about  the  proposed  semi- 
nary till  Monday.  Some  ten  or  twelve  years  after, 
she  told  me  those  were  nights  of  prayer  with  her ; 
and  '  the  Lord,'  said  she,  *  not  only  answered  my 
prayer  in  inclining  your  husband  to  engage  in  the 
work,  but  granted  much  more  than  I  asked.    He  gave 


THE  LAST  VISIT.  321 

me  in  yourself  and  Mr.  Porter  personal  friends,  and 
at  your  house  a  home  whenever  I  have  needed  quiet 
and  rest.  0  that  first  visit/  she  remarked,  *  and  that 
chamber  where  I  cominended  anew  the  enterprise  to 
God,  and  could  finally  submit  the  question  of  your 
husband's  acceptance  and  all  to  him.' 

"I  have  thus  told  you  of  her  first  visit  to  our 
house  ;  I  will  now  tell  you  of  her  last. 

"  When  I  was  at.the  seminary  on  the  Thanksgiving 
occasion  previous  to  her  death,  I  said  to  Miss  Lyon, 
'  You  know  the  invitation  to  spend  your  vacations  with 
us  is  stereotyped ;  may  we  not  expect  you  in  the  win- 
ter vacation  ?'  She  replied, '  I  think  I  shall  come  previ- 
ous to  vacation,  and  rest,  for  circles  here  are  so  broken 
up  then,  that  it  is  more  difficult  getting  along  than  in 
the  term  time.  She  came,  however,  in  that  vacation  ; 
and  the  first  evening  after  she  arrived,  she  told  me, 
that  what  decided  her  to  come,  after  concluding  she 
should  remain  at  the  seminary  during  vacation,  was, 
she  had  never  felt  the  responsibility  of  giving  relig- 
ious instruction  as  she  had  that  winter.  '  Oh,  when  I 
come  before  those  young  immortals  to  teach  them  eter- 
nal truths,  I  am  borne  down  with  a  sense  of  its  im- 
portance as  never  before,  and  I  wanted  to  come  to 
my  resting-home,  where,  in  that  quiet  chamber,  I  could 
seek  anew  for  wisdom,  grace,  and  strength  for  the 
great  work.' 

"The  teachers,  she  said,  were  very  urgent  she 
should  go  to  New  York  to  sit  for  her  portrait ;  so 
much  so,  that  she  was  reluctant  not  to  comply  with 
their  kind  request,  and  accept  of  their  generous  offer 
to  bear  all  the  expense.    '  But,'  she  added, '  it  seemed 


328  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

of  SO  little  consequence  to  have  my  picture  taken, 
compared  with  seeking  a  better  preparation  for  my 
important  duties,  that  I  could  not  comply.' 

"  Every  thing  in  her  conversation  and  appearance 
indicated  a  '  fresh  anointing.'  All  business  "with  re- 
gard to  the  seminary  was  laid  aside.  Previously,  she 
had  invariably  come  with  account-books,  and  a  list  of 
various  items  of  business  to  consult  Mr.  Porter  about ; 
and  as  soon  as  he  came  in,  business  was  the  theme. 
Now  she  introduced  no  subject  of  business  but  twice 
during  her  stay,  and  one  of  those  times  said  but  a  few 
words. 

"  Mr.  Porter  said  to  me  on  Sabbath  evening — she 
came  the  Friday  previous — '  Does  not  Miss  Lyon  seem 
unusually  spiritual  ?'  I  replied,  *  I  think  so,  evident- 
ly ;  I  never  saw  her  so  heavenly-minded.'  Little  did 
I  then  think  she  was  pluming  her  wings  for  her  up- 
ward flight.  She  appeared  as  well  as  I  ever  saw  her, 
and  repeatedly  spoke  with  gratitude  of  her  excellent 
health.  At  our  dinner-table,  a  day  or  two  previous 
to  her  leaving,  she  remarked,  playfully, '  Mr.  Porter, 
you  and  Mrs.  Porter  have  been  afraid  I  should  break 
down  at  the  seminary,  but ' — dropping  her  knife  and 
fork,  and  straightening  up — *  do  you  not  think  I  am 
in  pretty  good  trim  ?  I  have  an  excellent  appetite,  I 
sleep  like  a  child,  and  have  none  of  that  chilliness  I 
have  had  when  rather  exhausted  with  my  labors ;  I 
feel  quite  vigorous.'  We  both  told  her  we  thought 
we  had  not  seen  her  better,  and  the  conclusion  of  us 
all  was,  that  she  had  as  good  a  prospect  of  physical 
ability  to  labor  on  at  the  seminary  for  ten  years  to 
come,  as  she  had  ten  years  ago. 


THE  LAST  VISIT.  329 

"Except  coming  down  to  breakfast  and  family 
■worship,  she  spent  the  mornings  till  our  hour  for  din- 
ner in  her  chamber.  I  had  frequent  occasion  to  go 
to  her  room,  and  always  found  her  with  her  Bible, 
Hodge's  Way  of  Life,  or  Goodrich's  Bible  History  of 
Prayer,  and  her  remarks  showed  an  elevated  state  of 
devotional  feeling. 

"  One  morning,  soon  after  breakfast,  I  found  her 
with  a  large  Bible  open  at  Solomon's  Song.  She  told 
me  she  rose  early  that  morning,  and  had  read  through 
that  book.  She  added, '  I  think  I  have  never  enjoyed 
it  so  before,  though  I  have  read  it  often  for  a  few 
years  past.  I  have  been  able  to  drop  the  figure,  and 
view  Christ's  strong  love  to  the  church.  0  how 
wonderful  this  love!  What  infinite  condescension, 
in  his  exalted  state,  to  leave  the  realms  of  purity,  and 
dwell  with  fallen,  polluted  man!  Yet  by  it  he  lost 
none  of  his  dignity}  From  this  she  drew  the  inference, 
that  when,  from  the  principle  of  benevolence,  we  vol- 
untarily dwell  among  the  wicked,  we  need  not  be 
degraded. 

"  She  seemed,  in  conversation,  to  dwell  more  on 
the  scenes  of  childhood  and  youth  than  I  had  ever 
known  her.  One  afternoon  she  told  us  of  her  mater- 
nal grandfather,  who  was  a  Baptist  clergyman.  *I 
think,'  she  says,  '  he  was  a  most  holy  man.  When  a 
child,  I  can  remember  my  conviction  that  he  loved 
and  served  God,  and  was  living  for  another  world,  not 
this.  When  I  was  about  ten  years  old,  there  was 
what  was  called  a  reformation  among  his  people,  and 
many  were  baptized.  I  think  it  was  a  genuine  work 
of  grace.    My  mind  was  then  much  impressed  by  hear- 


330  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

ing  his  conversation  with  those  who  came  to  him  under 
conviction  for  sin,  as  it  was  termed,  and  I  never  lost 
those  impressions.  He  was  remarkable  for  praying 
much  for  his  posterity,  that  none  of  them  might  ever 
be  left  to  slight  the  offers  of  mercy  through  a  Saviour. 
When  I  last  visited  my  native  place,  I  went  with  a 
relative  to  two  graveyards  where  forty-two  of  his 
descendants  are  buried.  I  had  a  delightful  view  of 
the  faithfulness  of  God  to  his  believing  people.  They 
had  all  left  a  comforting  evidence  that  they  had  died 
in  the  faith.'  She  was  enthusiastic  in  talking  of  him, 
and  said,  *  What  a  blessing  to  have  such  a  grandfather ; 
how  to  be  prized  above  all  the  world  calls  great.' 

"  When  she  left  us,  I  felt,  more  than  ever  before, 
that  it  was  a  rare  privilege  to  enjoy  her  personal 
friendship,  and  have  her  so  frequently  an  inmate  of 
our  family.  Ever  since  my  first  acquaintance  with 
Miss  Lyon,  I  thought  I  had  never  seen  the  blessed 
principles  and  precepts  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  so 
strikingly  exemplified  in  any  of  his  professed  follow- 
ers. But  on  account  of  her  active  business  habits, 
and  her  being  so  much  engaged  in  planning  for  im- 
provements in  her  beloved  seminary,  I  had  not  before 
seen  so  much  of  that  contemplative,  devotional  state 
of  mind  as  was  developed  in  this  visit.  There  was 
evinced  an  absorbing  love  to  the  Lord  Jesus  ;  Christ 
was  her  theme,  and  she  dwelt  much  on  the  privilege 
of  laboring  for  him,  and  making  sacrifices  for  his 
cause.  I  think  I  have  never  witnessed  a  nearer  ap- 
proach to  the  mercy-seat  than  was  apparent  in  social 
prayer  just  before  her  leaving.  It  was  almost  the 
last  sound  of  her  voice  that  I  heard." 


THE  DEPARTURE.  331 

When  the  time  has  come  for  those  who  are  great- 
ly beloved,  and  who  are  in  stations  of  great  useful- 
ness, to  die.  Providence  sometimes  commissions  the 
destroyer  suddenly  to  execute  his  work.  Thus  is 
the  anguish  of  the  separation  shortened ;  and  though 
nature  may  murmur,  grace  teaches  us  perhaps  to  look 
upon  such  a  course  as  an  indication  of  mercy.  Such 
is  the  aspect  in  which  we  ought  to  regard  the  sick- 
ness and  death  of  Miss  Lyon.  They  came  suddenly 
and  unexpectedly,  and  reason  was  taken  away  also. 
But  before  that  took  place,  an  opportunity  was  given 
for  her  to  leave  in  the  hearts  of  her  pupils  some  of 
the  noblest  sentiments  ever  uttered  by  uninspired 
mortals.  These  constituted  her  "last  instruction." 
The  "  departure,"  which  followed,  had  nothing  in  it 
very  peculiar.  She  sunk  rapidly  under  the  power  of 
strong  disease,  against  which  her  vigorous  constitu- 
tion struggled  mightily.  But  the  event  and  all  the 
circumstances  relating  to  it  were  ordered  by  a  wise 
and  benevolent  Providence ;  and  the  language  of  our 
hearts  should  be,  "  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath 
taken  away ;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

The  details  of  this  trying  event,  and  of  the  last  in- 
struction given  by  Miss  Lyon  to  the  seminary,  are  con- 
tained in  the  journal  kept  there  for  the  missionaries. 
From  this  the  following  extracts  are  made : 

"  March  9, 1849.  Since  our  last  date,  we  have  been 
led  through  scenes  of  deep,  deep  aflSiction.  About 
four  weeks  ago,  one  of  our  young  ladies  had  a  severe 
attack  of  influenza,  with  swelling  in  the  throat,  some- 
what like  quinsy.    An  additional  cold  brought  on 


332  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

erysipelas,  and  she  was  quite  sick  with  it.  For  two 
or  three  days,  we  saw  no  cause  for  alarm  in  her  case, 
as  we  supposed  it  to  be  a  common  form  of  the  disease ; 
but  it  proved  to  be  the  malignant  erysipelas,  so  preva- 
lent and  so  fatal  in  many  places  four  or  five  years 
since.  On  Wednesday,  February  21,  it  became  evi- 
dent that  she  must  die.  The  disease  settled  upon  the 
brain,  congestion  followed,  and  she  lay  in  a  senseless 
state,  from  which  nothing  could  arouse  her.  It  was 
thought  she  could  not  live  through  the  night.  This 
was  to  us  all  a  most  unexpected  stroke.  The  painful 
intelligence  must  be  communicated  to  her  parents  in 
Weare,  New  Hampshire,  who,  as  yet,  knew  nothing  of 
her  sickness.  The  brief  notice  that  she  was  very  sick, 
and  could  live  but  a  few  hours,  was  sent  by  private 
conveyance,  telegraph,  and  mail,  and  reached  them  in 
about  thirty-sii  hours.  The  anxious  father,  in  entire 
suspense  with  regard  to  the  circumstances  of  her  sick- 
ness, started  immediately,  and  arrived  Friday  even- 
ing, just  in  season  to  see  her  die.  She  recognized 
him,  but  was  too  far  gone  to  say  any  thing.  There 
had  never  been  a  death  here  when  the  external  cir- 
cumstances seemed  more  trying. 

"  But  we  knew  not  that  a  still  heavier  aflfliction 
awaited  us.  We  thought  not  that  death  would  very 
soon  come  again,  and  take  from  us  our  dearly  loved 
Miss  Lyon.  But  so  it  was.  For  about  two  weeks 
before  Miss  Wingate  was  taken  down  so  suddenly. 
Miss  Lyon  had  had  something  of  the  influenza  hang- 
ing about  her,  but  had  not  allowed  herself  to  give  up 
to  it  at  all.  When  the  intelligence  of  Miss  Wingate's 
condition  was  communicated  to  her,  she  was  in  a  state 


THE  DEPARTURE.  333 

to  feel  most  deeply  all  that  was  trying  in  the  case. 
She  had  just  taken  more  cold,  was  more  fatigued  than 
usual,  and  had  one  of  her  severe  headaches  coming 
on.  The  next  day  was  the  annual  fast  for  literary 
institutions,  and  she  felt  much  anxiety  to  have  the  day 
blessed  to  us.  The  result  of  all  was,  such  a  headache ' 
and  nervous  excitement,  that  she  could  not  sleep  that 
night,  and  the  next  morning  she  was  scarcely  able  to 
lift  her  head  from  her  pillow.  She  attended  devo- 
tions, but  was  able  to  say  only  a  very  few  words. 
We  have  never  seen  her  appear  so  sick  in  the  hall  as 
she  did  that  morning.  She  was  kept  as  quiet  as  pos- 
sible during  the  day,  slept  well  that  night,  and  on 
Friday  seemed  better.  She  went  into  the  hall  both 
in  the  morning  and  afternoon.  Those  who  heard  her 
will  not  soon  forget  her  remarks  on  that  day.  "Would 
that  we  could  convey  to  you  her  words,  her  manner, 
and  the  impression  made  upon  our  minds.  But  this 
we  cannot  do. 

"  She  wished  to  lead  us  to  turn  from  the  trying 
circumstances  in  which  we  were  placed,  and  follow 
that  dear  dying  one  up  to  the  *  celestial  city,'  and,  as 
its  pearly  gates  opened  to  receive  her,  look  in,  and 
catch  a  glimpse  of  its  glories.  She  seemed  to  have  a 
most  enrapturing  view  of  heaven,  and  with  a  full 
heart,  exclaimed,  '  Oh,  if  it  were  I,  how  happy  I 
should  be  to  go  1'  but  added,  '  Not  that  I  would  be 
unclothed,  while  I  can  do  any  thing  for  you,  my  dear 
children.'  She  then  addressed  the  impenitent  in  a 
most  impressive  manner,  and  expressed  much  grati- 
tude that  the  dying  one  was  not  of  their  number.  A 
sense  of  the  misery  of  the  lost  seemed  to  come  over 


334  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

her,  as  she  said,  with  much  feeling,  *  If  one  of  you 
were  on  that  dying  bed,  I  could  not  take  you  by  the 
hand  and  go  with  you  down  to  that  world  of  despair. 
It  would  be  too  painful  for  me.  I  should  feel  that  I 
mnst  draw  the  veil  and  leave  you.'  She  urged  them 
to  enter  at  once  upon  the  service  of  Christ,  not  from 
fear  of  death,  but  from  a  view  of  his  infinite  perfec- 
tions, and  his  claims  upon  them. 

"  Miss  Wingate's  disease  was  of  a  form  so  malig- 
nant, and  so  dreaded,  that  there  was  a  tendency  to 
excitement.  Miss  Lyon  read  to  us  some  passages 
from  the  Bible  which  speak  of  the  fear  of  God,  and 
made  some  remarks  in  connection  with  them.  She 
looked  upon  all  anxiety  about  the  future  as  distrust 
of  God,  and  asked,  '  Shall  we  fear  what  he  is  about 
to  do  ?'  adding,  *  There  is  nothing  in  the  universe  that 
I  am  afraid  of,  but  that  I  shall  not  know  and  do  all 
my  duty.' 

"  Miss  Wingate  died  about  ten  o'clock  that  even- 
ing, and  it  was  important  that  her  father  and  sister 
should  leave  with  the  remains  early  the  next  morning. 
Of  course  there  was  much  to  be  done  to  get  every 
thing  in  readiness.  Much  effort  was  made  to  relieve 
Miss  Lyon  entirely  from  care  and  anxiety,  and  every 
thing  was  done  faitlifully  and  promptly.  Still  she  did 
not  sleep.  She  had  felt  a  strong  desire  to  have  the 
father  arrive  before  death  had  done  its  work,  and  she 
said  she  was  '  so  filled  with  gratitude  to  God  for  his 
goodness  in  this  respect,  that  she  could  not  rest.' 
The  next  morning,  her  whole  appearance  indicated 
too  plainly  that  she  was  suffering  from  severe  head- 
ache and  intense  mental  excitement.    She  slept  con- 


THE  DEPARTURE.  335 

siderably  during  the  day,  and  as  she  seemed  quite 
comfortable,  we  fondly  hoped  that,  after  the  rest  of 
the  night,  she  would  be  quite  well ;  but  that  evening's 
mail  brought  the  distressing  intelligence  of  the  death 
of  a  nephew  by  suicide  while  deranged,  and  without 
leaving  evidence  that  he  was  a  Christian.  With  her 
clear  views  of  what  it  is  for  a  soul  to  be  lost,  and  her 
deep  feeling  in  regard  to  it,  this  intelligence,  coming 
when  she  was  in  that  weak  state,  was  too  much  for 
her,  and  that  was  not  only  a  sleepless  night,  but  a 
night  of  anguish.  We  could  have  wished  that  letter 
had  not  come  just  at  that  time.  Still  we  know  that 
that,  as  well  as  every  other  circumstance,  was  ordered 
in  infinite  wisdom,  and  we  would  not  complain. 

"As  might  be  expected  after  such  a  night,  the 
morning  found  her  worse.  She  has  had  an  affection 
in  her  head  somewhat  like  scrofula,  which  has  troubled 
her  more  or  less  for  years.  It  has  been  worse  than 
usual  all  this  winter.  In  past  seasons,  when  she  has 
had  a  cold,  there  has  been  a  swelling  of  the  face  con- 
nected with  this  difficulty.  On  Saturday  there  was 
some  swelling,  and  it  increased  on  the  Sabbath,  but 
did  not  appear  like  erysipelas  till  Sabbath  evening. 
Monday  morning,  her  physician  pronounced  it  a  mild 
form  of  the  epidemic  erysipelas — not  malignant,  like 
Miss  Wingate's.  He  expressed  much  fear  for  the 
result,  not  from  the  disease,  but  on  account  of  her 
peculiar  temperament,  her  age,  the  state  of  her  con- 
stitution, her  past  labors,  and  the  extreme  nervous 
excitement  from  which  she  was  suffering  when  taken 
ill.  We  felt  exceedingly  anxious  for  her.  For  a  time, 
every  thing  seemed  encouraging.    There  was  scarcely 


336  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

an  unfavorable  symptom  in  her  case.  The  disease 
seemed  to  be  entirely  under  control.  Wednesday  it 
reached  its  crisis,  and  then  the  swelling  began  grad- 
ually to  disappear  where  it  first  appeared.  We  had 
looked  forward  to  this  turning-point  with  intense  anx- 
iety, as  we  supposed  it  to  be  the  critical  time  with 
her.  When  Thursday  morning  came,  the  swelling 
had  continued  to  lessen,  and  she  seemed  no  worse, 
and  for  a  little  time  our  anxiety  was  relieved.  But 
she  was  not  so  much  better  during  the  day  as  we 
hoped  she  would  be.  As  we  have  before  said,  her 
nervous  system  was  intensely  excited  when  the  ery- 
sipelas came  on,  and  as  the  disease  left  her,  the  excite- 
ment returned.  This  was  the  only  unfavorable  symp- 
tom. There  was  a  free  circulation,  her  pulse  was 
good,  and  her  skin  seemed  in  a  natural  state.  Every 
effort  was  made  to  keep  her  quiet,  but  all  was  in  vain. 
That  excitement  increased  until  it  became  insanity : 
not  the  delirium  frequently  attendant  upon  fever,  but 
real  mental  derangement.  For  nearly  three  days, 
she  talked  day  and  night,  without  intermission,  in  a 
worried,  excited  manner.  This  was  connected  with 
congestion  of  the  brain.  During  the  day  she  said  very 
little,  and  seemed  to  bo  in  an  unconscious  state  most 
of  the  time. 

Early  Monday  evening  her  pastor,  Mr.  Laurie, 
called  to  see  her.  His  voice  seemed  to  recall  her 
to  consciousness  for  a  little  time.  He  said  to  her, 
*  Christ  precious  ?'  She  seemed  to  summon  all  her 
energies  to  make  one  great  effort,  raised  both  hands 
and  clinched  them,  lifted  her  head  from  her  pillow, 
and  exclaimed  audibly  and  with  emphasis,  'Yes.' 


THE  DEPARTURE.  331 

This  was  the  last  word  she  uttered.  Short  passages 
of  Scripture  were  repeated,  and  her  countenance 
showed  that  she  understood  and  appreciated  them. 
Those  which  spoke  of  the  glory  of  God  seemed  to 
interest  her  most.  She  made  an  effort  to  speak,  but 
had  not  sufficient  strength.  Seeing  this,  Mr.  Laurie 
said  to  her,  '  You  need  not  speak ;  God  can  be  glori- 
fied in  silence.'  As  he  said  this,  an  indescribable 
smile  came  over  her  countenance.  Mr.  Laurie,  speak- 
ing of  it,  said, '  Oh,  that  soul  is  full  of  the  love  of  the 
Saviour.'  This  moment  of  consciousness,  this  last  ray 
from  her  setting  sun,  was  very  precious  to  us.  In 
about  an  hour  after,  her  freed  spirit  was  mingling  in 
the  glories  of  heaven.  We  thought  of  those  almost 
*  last  words,'  '  Oh,  if  it  was  I,  how  happy  I  should  be 
to  go  I'  If  the  thought  of  these  glories  was  so  enrap- 
turing to  her,  what  must  the  reality  be?  Mourn  for 
her  we  cannot.  If  there  ever  was  a  Christian  emi- 
nently prepared  for  heaven,  surely  she  was  one.  "She 
has  been  unusually  well  this  winter,  and  with  her  in- 
crease of  physical  strength  there  has  been  an  increase 
of  spiritual  strength.  We  have  never  known  her 
present  the  truth  in  a  more  clear,  impressive  manner, 
or  speak  more  from-  the  fulness  of  her  heart,  than  she 
has  this  winter,  especially  the  few  times  she  has  met 
us  tills  term.  Her  increased  spirituality  has  mani- 
fested itself  in  her  daily  familiar  intercourse,  as  well 
as  in  her  instructions  in  the  hall.  There  was  a  vivid- 
ness in  her  thoughts,  a  life  and  a  power  in  her  words, 
that  seemed  irresistible.  As  we  were  alone  with  her 
in  her  room  one  day,  but  a  very  short  time  before  her 
sickness,  she  said  to  us  familiarly, '  I  don't  know  why 

HaryL}-ou.  15 


338  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

it  is  that  my  mind  is  so  active.  It  seems  to  me,  some- 
times, as  though  I  am  doing  my  last  work.'  We 
thought  not  then  that  those  were  prophetic  words. 
But  how  soon  were  we  made  to  feel  their  truth !  We 
would  not  recall  her  from  that  *  exceeding  and  eter- 
nal weight  of  glory '  which  is  now  hers.  We  would 
not  have  her  lay  aside  her  harp  and  come  back  to 
this  sinful,  sorrowing  world.  We  would  not  mur- 
muringly  ask,  *  Why  was  she  not  spared  to  us  a  little 
longer  V  Rather  would  we  be  grateful  to  the  Giver 
of  all  good,  that  we  have  ever  known  her,  that  her 
light  has  shone  upon  us  and  the  world  so  long  and 
so  brilliantly. 

"  The  funeral  was  on  Thursday,  March  8,  at  two 
o'clock,  p.  M.  Previously  the  corpse  had  been  kept  in 
the  little  room  adjoining  the  seminary  hall  on  the 
south  side.  It  had  been  used  for  a  similar  purpose 
several  times  before.  When  Miss  Wingate  was  laid 
there,  Miss  Lyon  spoke  of  it  as  *  that  sacred  little 
room.'  'It  is  doubly  sacred  now.  The  young  ladies 
took  their  last  look  of  that  loved  countenance  before 
going  to  church.  There  was  a  peaceful,  pleasant, 
natural  expression,  that  we  scarcely  dared  to  hope 
for.  This  was  a  great  comfort  to  us,  for  during  her 
sickness  she  looked  so  unlike  herself,  that  friends 
would  not  have  recognized  her.  After  prayer  in  the 
seminary  hall  by  Mr.  Laurie,  we  walked  in  proces- 
sion to  the  church.  There  were  only  three  relatives 
present — Mr.  Wing  her  brother-in-law,  his  son,  and 
Mrs.  Burgess'  brother.  These  walked  next  to  the 
coffib ;  then,  in  order,  the  trustees  of  the  institution, 
the  teachers,  the  Senior  class,  the  remainder  of  the 


THE  DEPARTURE.  339 

school,  and  friends  with  us  from  abroad.  We  were 
forcibly  reminded  of  those  anniversary  occasions, 
when  we  have  so  many  times  walked  in  procession 
and  taken  our  seats  in  church  in  a  similar  manner ; 
and  the  thought  that  we  were  for  the  last  time  follow- 
ing that  dear  one  who  had  always  been  with  us,  was 
almost  overwhelming. 

"All  the  services  in  church  were  impressive. 
Prayers  were  offered  by  two  of  the  trustees,  Rev. 
Mr.  Harris  of  Conway,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Swift  of  North- 
ampton. The  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  Dr.  Hum- 
phrey, from  the  texts,  '  The  path  of  the  just  is  as  the 
shining  light,  that  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the 
perfect  day ;'  *  The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed.' 
They  were  afflicted  in  our  affliction,  and  knew  how 
to  guide  our  thoughts,  and  lead  us  to  the  throne  of 
grace.     The  hymns  sung  were  those  commencing, 

'  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way,' 

'  Servants  of  Christ,  well  done,' 

'  Why  do  we  mourn  departing  friends^' 

We  were  interested  in  having  this  last  one  sung,  be- 
cause it  was  the  one  our  dear  Miss  Lyon  read  to  us 
as  expressive  of  her  feelings,  when  we  were  assem- 
bled in  the  hall  just  before  Mr.  Wingate  left  us  with 
the  remains  of  his  daughter.  This  was  the  last  time 
we  heard  her  voice  in  that  hall.  The  evening  be- 
fore, which  was  the  last  time  she  met  us  at  the  table, 
she  read  the  fifth  chapter  of  second  Corinthians. 

"  From  church  the  procession  moved  to  the  grave. 
This  is  on  the  seminary  ground,  a  little  south  of  the 
orchard.  It  can  be  distinctly  seen  from  most  of  the 
rooms  oa  that  side  of  the  building.    It  is  a  sacred 


340  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

spot,  and  many  will  love  to  visit  it.  As  we  gathered 
around  the  grave,  the  school  sung  the  words  set  to 
the  tune  'Mount  Vernon,' 

"Sister,  thou  wast  mild  and  lovely," 

altering  them  a  little  to  make  them  appropriate. 
We  need  not  tell  you  how  sad  our  hearts  were  as 
we  returned  from  that  grave  to  this  desolate  house. 
The  trustees  all  cheered  and  comforted  us  by  their 
sympathizing  and  prayerful  spirit.  Last  evening, 
their  wives  and  the  teachers  had  a  precious  little 
prayer-meeting.  They  pledged  us  a  daily  remem- 
brance at  the  throne  of  grace.  It  encourages  us 
very  much  to  know  that  others  are  seeking  divine 
strength  and  divine  guidance  for  us.  The  trustees 
wish  us  to  go  on,  and  carry  out  as  fully  as  possible 
all  Miss  Lyon's  principles  and  plans;  and  we  feel 
strongly  that  there  is  a  sacred  obligation  resting 
upon  us  to  do  this  as  far  as  is  in  our  power." 

Over  the  grave  of  Miss  Lyon  a  beautiful  monu- 
ment of  white  Italian  marble  was  erected  a  few  months 
after  her  burial.  This  is  defended  by  an  iron  railing 
about  thirty  feet  square.  The  monument  is  a  single 
square  column,  resting  on  a  pedestal  of  granite.  The 
inscriptions  on  the  four  sides  are  as  follows : 

On  the  west  side : 


THE  DEPARTURE.  841 

MARY  LYOK, 

THE  FOUNDER  OP 

MOUNT   HOLYOKE   FEMALE   SEMINARY, 
FOR  TWELVE  YEARS  ITS  PRINCIPAL; 

AND 

A  TEAQHER  FOR  THIRTY-FIVE  YEARS, 

AND 

OF  MORE  THAN  THREE  THOUSAND  PUPILS. 

BORN  FEBRUARY  28,  1797. 
DIED  MARCH  5,  1849. 

On  the  north  side : 
"GIVE  HER  OF  THE  FRUITS  OF  HER  HANDS,  AND  LET 
HER  OWN  WORKS  PRAISE  HER  IN  THE  GATES." 
On  the  south  side : 

"  Servant  of  God,  well  done ; 
Rest  from  thy  loved  employ : 
The  battle  fought,  the  victory  won. 
Enter  thy  Master's  joy." 

On  the  east  side  the  trustees  directed  to  be  placed 
the  memorable  sentence  which  Miss  Lyon  uttered  in 
the  last  instruction  she  gave  to  her  school,  as  related 
on  the  preceding  pages : 

"  THERE  IS  NOTHING  IN  THE  UNIVERSE  THAT  I  FEAR, 
BUT  THAT  I  SHALL  NOT  KNOW  ALL  MY  DUTY,  OR  SHALL 
FAIL  TO  DO  IT." 


342  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

MISS  LYON'S  CHARACTER  AND  LABORS. 

We  have  seen  the  assiduity  and  success  with  which 
Miss  Lyon  studied  in  her  youth  and  early  prime ;  how 
well  she  economized  and  contrived  that  she  might 
have  time  and  means  to  study,  counting  knowledge 
more  precious  than  silver;  what  friends  were  raised 
up  to  aid  her  in  her  extremity,  and  with  what  wisdom 
and  liberality  they  fulfilled  their  highly  privileged 
office  in  her  education. 

We  have  seen  how  the  rays  of  divine  truth,  fall- 
ing first  on  her  luminous  understanding,  lingered 
there  a  while,  and  then  penetrating  her  large  heart, 
kindled  and  became  a  living  fire,  so  that  she  was  in- 
deed a  burning  and  a  shining  light  to  all  around. 

We  have  seen  what  schools  enjoyed  the  first  fruits 
of  her  labors,  and  what  other  schools  had  the  full 
ingathering  of  her  riper  years  and  rare  powers ;  how 
almost  from  the  first,  as  if  she  were  a  chosen  vessel 
unto  God,  the  "  dews  "  of  his  grace  fell  on  the  soil  she 
cultivated  and  the  seed  she  sowed. 

We  have  seen  how  in  her  full  maturity  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  All-wise  gave  her  counsel  and  under- 
standing to  devise  and  plan  a  female  seminary,  in 
some  respects  wholly,  and  in  others  comparatively, 
new  and  without  precedent ;  with  what  humble  faith 
and  holy  courage  and  high  resolve  ^le  ventured  on 
her  undertaking,  as  on  almost  pathless  waters,  in  a 
bark  frail,  yet  freighted  with  every  hope  she  held 


HER  CHARACTER  AND  LABORS.  343 

dearest  on  earth ;  how  she  looked  to  her  Bible  and 
her  God  alone  for  chart,  compass,  and  courage ;  and 
how  her  own  clear  eye  and  unshaken  soul  stood  ready- 
bankers,  disbursing  light  and  faith  and  hope  on  de- 
mand to  every  one  whose  heart  failed  him  for  fear 
and  for  thinking  too  much  of  what  the  world  would 
say. 

We  have  seen  how  the  foundations  of  her  institu- 
tion, so  beloved  and  longed  for,  were  at  last  laid  with 
prayers  and  tears  and  toil,  and  its  topstone  with  joy 
and  praise  and  giving  of  thanks  and  holy  consecra- 
tion to  Him  who  had  shown  her  the  pattern,  and  bade 
her  build  a  school  to  his  great  name ;  how  God  ac- 
cepted the  work  and  service  of  her  hands,  and  blessed 
both  it  and  her  abundantly. 

We  have  seen  how,  though  she  sleeps  with  her 
fathers,  yet  the  Lord  still  remembers  his  holy  cove- 
nant with  her,  that  he  would  be  a  God  to  her  and  to 
her  spiritual  children  after  her,  and  how  he  hath  in 
all  things  done  for  her  beloved  seminary  exceeding 
abundantly  above  all  that  she  asked  or  thought. 

All  this,  and  more,  this  history  of  Miss  Lyon 
teaches  so  fully  and  clearly,  that  present  and  future 
generations  may  learn  something  of  the  ways  and 
wisdom  of  God,  an^  something  also  of  the  vast  power 
for  good  which  he  can  give  to  one  woman  for  the 
whole  race  in  all  coming  time. 

Nothing  now  remains  but  briefly  to  present  some 
of  the  leading  points  of  Miss  Lyon's  character,  labors, 
and  success. 

God  gave  her  a  vigorous  and  weU-halanced  constitu- 
tion.   Her  frame  was  robust;  the  muscular  powers 


844  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

were  displayed  in  great  strength  and  vigor ;  the  vital 
apparatus  was  strong  ;  in  short,  all  the  bodily  powers 
were  developed  in  harmonious  proportion.  Such  a 
physical  system  seems  essential  to  the  part  in  life  for 
which  she  was  destined. 

It  gives  a  just  view  of  her  mind  to  say  that  it 
corresponded  well  with  her  bodily  frame.  She  was 
largely  endowed  in  those  faculties  which  are  thought 
to  hold  the  first  rank  in  the  human  intellect.  She 
could  grasp  and  handle  abstract  truths  with  the  ease 
and  skill  of  the  practised  philosopher.  She  could  at 
the  same  time  illustrate  them  with  a  woman's  fertility 
of  invention,  and  enforce  them  with  a  woman's  ear- 
nestness. Her  mental  eye  was  originally  steady, 
clear,  and  far-seeing ;  and  its  angle  of  vision  was 
peculiarly  large.  Her  thoughts  were  accustomed  to 
work  themselves  clear  in  speech,  rather  than  in 
silence ;  and  hence  she  would  often  at  first  give  a 
less  distinct  utterance  to  principles  which  at  length 
would  fall  from  her  lips  with  startling  vividness  and 
power.  She  spoke  with  so  much  ease  and  pleasure 
to  herself,  that  it  seemed  not  to  disturb,  but  rather 
to  quicken  and  array  in  proper  order  the  train  of 
thought  wliich  was  going  on  within. 

While  she  could  race  with  the  swiftest  and  soar 
with  the  loftiest,  she  had  that  natural  greatness  of 
soul  which  does  not  «xult  over  the  intellectual  weak- 
nesses and  failures  of  others.  She  took  no  vain  no- 
tice of  her  own  triumphs.  She  showed  no  compla- 
cency in  the  exercise  of  her  own  shining  talents»  She 
was  naturally  generous,  and  seemed  never  to  envy 
those  that  were  above,  nor  despise  those  that  were 


HER  CHARACTER  AND  LABORS.  345 

below  her,  nor  to  exercise  for  a  moment  an  emotion 
of  resentment  to  any  who  opposed  her. 

Miss  Lyon  was  distinguished  for  practical  wisdom. 
The  proof  of  it  is  in  the  success  of  her  life.  Viewed 
as  a  whole,  it  gives  one  a  pleasing  sense  of  its  com- 
pleteness. Of  her  many  steps,  none  had  to  be  back- 
ward, none  downward.  Her  career  is  a  climax  in 
which  every  successive  round  is  a  gain  on  the  preced- 
ing. She  understood  the  two  great  elements  in  this 
world's  affairs,  human  nature  and  divine  providence. 
In  view  of  both  she  laid  her  plans ;  and  whatsoever 
she  did  prospered.  Her  wisdom  was  not  the  under- 
ground cunning  which  mines  and  countermines,  and 
can  do  nothing  more.  It  was  open  as  the  sun's  face 
in  a  fair  day,  and  straightforward  as  his  rays.  She 
was  honest  and  truthful  as  an  echo,  or  as  the  clear 
blue  sky  after  an  April  shower. 

Miss  Lyon  possessed  rare  powers  of  invention  and 
combination.  This  was  strikingly  manifested  by  her 
in  the  planning  of  the  seminary  edifice,  and  in  the 
arranging  of  a  system  by  which  the  domestic  labors 
could  be  performed  by  the  pupils  without  interfer- 
ence with  their  studies.  Her  invention  was  prompted 
by  the  highest  benevolence,  and  made  practically  use- 
ful by  uncommon  firmness,  by  a  just  reliance  on  her- 
self, and  an  absolute  reliance  on  God.  Some  thought 
her  quixotic,  and  pitied  her  enthusiasm  ;  but  with 
her  heart  fixed  on  God  and  on  doing  good,  she  made 
no  reply,  or  returned  only  blessing  for  reproach.  In 
her  noblest  enterprise,  it  was  a  severe  trial  to  her  to 
go  forward  in  opposition  to  the  deliberate  conclusions 
of  some  of  the  best  and  wisest  minds ;  but  when,  upon 
15* 


346  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

careful  examination,  she  saw  clearly  the  practicability 
and  importance  of  the  undertaking,  she  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  act;  hoping  at  the  same  time  that  the  day 
would  come  when  all  the  wise  and  good  would  see  the 
subject  as  she  did.  So  long,  so  carefully,  and  so 
prayerfully  had  she  surveyed  the  whole  ground,  that 
the  path  through  it  was  radiant  with  light  to  her  eye, 
although  clouded  to  many ;  and  she  could  not  refuse 
to  go  forward  without  doing  violence  to  her  strongest 
convictions.  The  points  on  which  she  diflFered  from 
some  of  her  judicious  friends  were,  attempting  to  ob- 
tain funds  by  appealing  solely  to  the  benevolence  of 
the  community;  undertaking  to  have  the  domestic 
labors  of  the  institution  performed  by  the  pupils 
themselves ;  and  proposing  to  conduct  it  on  such  a 
plan  that  the  expenses  would  be  very  low.  One  or 
more  of  this  trio  of  principles  had  the  power  to  reach 
the  hearts  and  open  the  purses  of  a  large  proportion 
-Df  the  benevolent  in  the  middle  ranks  of  society,  and 
of  some  among  the  wealthy.  The  triumphant  success 
of  the  Mount  Holyoke  Seminary  for  two-thirds  of  a 
generation,  strikingly  illustrates  the  foresight  and 
good  judgment  as  well  as  the  invention  of  its 
founder. 

Nor  did  Miss  Lyon's  executive  and  administrative 
skill  fall  behind  her  wisdom  and  her  invention.  She 
had  a  marvellous  power  of  accomplishing  whatever 
she  desired  to  do  and  had  the  means  of  doing.  In 
the  large  educational  establishments  with  which  she 
was  connected,  nothing  was  left  at  loose  ends.  No 
drones  were  allowed  in  the  hive  ;  teachers  and  pupils 
were  all  employed,  and  the  result  was  order,  neat- 


HER  CHARACTER  AND  LABORS.  341 

ness,  and  dispatch.  The  promptness  too  with  which 
this  executive  power  was  manifested,  deserves  notice. 
The  moment  a  thing  was  found  to  be  desirable  and 
practicable,  she  felt  that  it  must  be  in  a  course  of 
execution.  With  her  there  was  no  putting  off  till 
to-morrow  what  could  be  done  to-day. 

Much  wisdom  as  well  as  energy  is  essential  to  the 
management  of  a  large  literary  institution.  Numer- 
ous and  diverse  elements  are  to  be  controlled.  As  to 
the  pupils,  it  is  one  important  qualification  in  a  teach- 
er to  be  able  to  adapt  means  and  motives  to  their  pe- 
culiarities of  character.  And  then,  a  large  corps  of 
teachers  must  be  selected  and  made  to  act  in  unison, 
or  a  firebrand  will  be  thrown  into  the  school.  More- 
over, in  most  schools  in  this  country,  it  is  necessary 
that  the  principal  should  exercise  a  rigid  watchful- 
ness over  its  pecuniary  interests,  being  cognizant  of 
every  expenditure,  and  of  the  smallest  means  of  in- 
come— the  whole  demanding  no  small  financial  ability. 
Still  further,  in  schools  dependent  on  public  patron- 
age, the  principal  is  expected  to  see  to  it  that  the 
public  are  kept  informed  of  its  advantages,  and  their 
attention  favorably  drawn  towards  it.  To  meet  suc- 
cessfully these  various  and  dissimilar  duties,  requires 
something  beyond  mere  knowledge  of  literature  and 
science.  It  requires  great  versatility  of  powers,  and 
practical  wisdom,  to  choose  and  apply  the  means  nec- 
essary to  give  energy  and  success  to  so  complicated  a 
system.  None  who  are  acquainted  with  Miss  Lyon's 
management  of  the  Holyoke  Seminary  will  doubt  that 
her  talents  for  administration  were  equal  to  her  skill 
as  an  instructor  in  science  and  literature. 


348  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

Her  intellectual  powers  were  vigorous  and  thor- 
oughly disciplined.  Her  health  was  firm,  her  nerves 
strong,  her  interest  in  any  important  object  in  which 
she  was  engaged  absorbing,  and  her  powers  were 
schooled  into  complete  subjection  to  her  will.  Hence 
in  study,  in  teaching,  and  in  benevolent  effort,  many 
of  her  fellow-laborers  became  exhausted  while  she  was 
yet  fresh  and  vigorous.  In  the  responsible  and  diffi- 
cult circumstances  in  which  she  was  often  placed,  these 
powers  of  concentration  and  endurance  were  of  great 
service,  indispensable  indeed  to  eminent  success. 

Another  characteristic  of  Miss  Lyon  was  her  injlu- 
ence  over  others.  The  two  motives  which  she  found  of 
mighty  efficacy  in  enforcing  school  and  family  regula- 
tions were,  their  reasonableness,  and  the  demands  of 
benevolence.  It  was  often  wonderful  to  see  how  tri- 
umphantly she  would  carry  any  measure  that  seemed 
important.  She  knew  how  to  set  in  motion  a  current 
which  made  individual  opposition  as  powerless  as 
chaflF  before  the  whirlwind.  But  this  talent  was  not 
confined  to  her  schools.  Whenever  it  was  desirable 
to  influence  people  in  the  common  walks  of  life,  she 
knew  how  to  spin  those  silken  cords  that  would  lead 
them  where  she  pleased.  Yet  she  never  pleased  to 
lead  where  reason,  conscience,  and  benevolence,  the 
secrets  of  her  power,  did  not  point  the  way.  Thus  it 
was  that  many  an  individual  was  brought  to  aid  a 
cause  to  which  he  was  before  indifferent  or  opposed. 

Miss  Lyon's  natural  activity  was  great.  There 
was  as  much  of  fire  in  the  susceptible  part  of  her 
being  as  there  was  of  light  in  the  intellectual.  She 
was  exceedingly  intense  for  a  person  of  so  large  an 


HER  CHARACTER  AND  LABORS.  349 

understanding.  Her  watchword  was  action,  not  un- 
steady and  fitful,  but  like  the  flow  of  a  river  fed  with 
many  and  unfailing  streams.  So  strong  a  vitality 
reigned  within  her  as  would  have  forbidden  the  busy 
idleness  so  common  when  outward  circumstances  ex- 
cuse from  toil.  Miss  Lyon  clearly  saw  the  duties  to 
which  she  was  called ;  and  like  her  Master,  she  was 
straitened  till  her  work  was  accomplished.  Her  zeal 
consumed  her,  but  it  was  long  in  doing  it.  Her  frame 
was  like  asbestos,  and  stood  an  intense  heat  for  many 
years. 

The  history  of  Miss  Lyon  shows  what  good  may 
often  be  done  by  a  discerning  liberality  applied  in  th^ 
education  of  young  women.  But  for  the  counsel  and 
aid  of  her  early  friends,  there  is  no  probability  that 
she  would  have  accomplished  her  mission  of  good  to 
her  country  and  the  world.  They  saw  her  promise. 
They  knew  her  power  and  her  integrity  of  purpose. 
They  counselled  her ;  and  she  corrected  her  defects, 
enlarged  her  views,  and  elevated  her  aims.  They 
cheered  her ;  and  she  ran  in  the  paths  of  knowledge 
and  opening  usefulness  with  eager  steps  and  great 
joy.  They  assisted  her;  and  she  was  borne  upward 
and  onward,  when  otherwise  she  might  have  sunk 
under  fatal  depression.  As  they  witness  the  bright 
crown  she  won  and  wears,  how  pure  must  be  the  joy 
of  those  who  stood  by  her  and  befriended  her  in  the 
early  and  untried  beginnings  of  her  career.  It  was 
but  little  to  hold  a  light  and  lend  a  hand  to  that 
young  and  ingenuous  Mary  Lyon  who  felt  within  her 
a  quickening  power  and  purpose  to  do  good  in  her 
day  and  generation ;  yet  that  little  led  her  forth  into 


850  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

a  broad  land  of  shining  usefulness,  which  the  world 
will  not  willingly  let  die,  and  which  can  be  measured 
only  by  the  dateless  ages  of  eternity. 

Great  and  invaluable  was  the  influence  of  Miss 
Lyon  in  training  up  active  and  efficient  women.  It  was 
great  while  she  lived.  It  is  still  great  now  that  she 
is  departed.  There  were  many  who  drew  from  her 
urn  both  light  and  fire  that  will  never  go  out.  All 
her  plans  of  school  management  favored  the  develop- 
ment of  energy  in  her  scholars.  She  made  them  feel 
the  value  of  time,  and  provided  for  its  fullest  occupa- 
tion and  improvement.  By  precept  and  example  she 
showed  the  duty  and  dignity  of  labor.  It  is  not  men 
of  science  and  letters,  nor  merchant  princes  whose 
ships  are  in  every  sea,  nor  all  the  authors  of  great 
and  valuable  improvements  in  the  arts  and  convenien- 
ces of  life,  nor  busy  politicians  with  eye  ever  so  clear 
and  heart  ever  so  true  to  work  out  and  bring  in  the 
best  system  of  public  economy,  nor  is  it  mighty  mon- 
archs  with  all  their  wealth  and  power,  and  with  more 
wisdom  even  than  monarchs  ever  had  before,  that  can 
make  the  Sun  of  righteousness  arise  on  the  dark  world, 
and  bring  the  glad  day  of  purity  and  peace.  It  is, 
under  Him  who  only  giveth  the  increase,  the  noiseless 
but  effectual  care  of  mothers,  rising  betimes  and  sow- 
ing the  good  seed,  sleeping  with  the  eyes  open,  nip- 
ping vice  in  the  early  bud  and  not  waiting  till  the 
sun  is  risen  to  find  the  enemy's  tares  already  sprung 
up,  commending  the  right  and  shaming  the  wrong  by 
their  own  bright  example,  maintaining  God's  cause 
as  their  own,  and  by  an  ever-present  and  absolute 
but  just  and  reasonable  authority,  defending  their 


HER  CHARACTER  AND  LABORS.  351 

children's  best  and  truest  interests  for  all  duration 
against  their  present  short-sighted  wishes — it  is  this 
that  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  eflfectual  instrumen- 
talities for  the  temporal  and  eternal  salvation  of  the 
race.  Every  great  interest  of  the  human  family  is 
lodged  in  those  hands  which  have  charge  of  our  in- 
fancy and  youth.  The  millennium  must  begin  in  and 
spread  from  the  nursery.  Miss  Lyon  saw  and  under- 
stood all  this.  With  far-reaching  wisdom,  she  plan- 
ned for  the  activity  and  energy,  for  the  usefulness 
and  independence,  for  the  virtue  and  happiness,  not 
only  of  her  immediate  pupils,  but,  as  far  as  in  her  lay, 
of  the  race. 

The  example  of  Miss  Lyon  illustrates  the  nature 
and  secret  of  the  highest  success  in  teaching.  It  is  not 
the  whole  of  true  success  to  make  a  pupil's  mind  thor- 
oughly expert  in  all  its  intellectual  exercises.  He  is 
the  teacher  of  teachers  and  winner  of  the  prize,  who 
is  favored  of  heaven  so  highly  as  to  be  enabled  to 
mould  the  character  and  shape  the  moral  course  of 
his  pupils  aright  for  both  worlds.  It  is  the  love  that 
sides  with  God  and  lives  to  his  praise — that  listens 
to  his  voice  and  patterns  after  the  example  of  his 
Son ;  the  love  whose  work  is  doing  good,  and  its  rest, 
the  happiness  found  in  doing  it — that  cleaves  to  the 
right  though  it  be  weak,  and  shuns  and  withstands 
the  wrong  though  it  be  popular  and  mighty:  it  is 
commending  and  instilling  such  love — it  is  being  the 
channel  and  instrumentality  through  which  it  descends 
to  i^e  heart  and  penetrates  and  moulds  the  character 
of  others,  that  constitutes  the  teacher's  highest  suc- 
cess and  brightest  crown. 


^* 


253  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

The  secret  of  Miss  Lyon's  winning  this  was  not  a 
mystery.  She  was  instant  in  prayer  for  this  very 
thing.  She  felt  that  if  she  failed  here,  she  failed 
essentially.  She  was  a  woman  of  great  faith,  and 
saw  divine  things  without  a  cloud.  Her  faith  was 
not  idle  and  quietistic,  but  wrought  in  her  unto  hope 
and  labor  and  success.  She  was  herself  filled  with 
the  charity  that  suffers  long,  and  is  kind.  The  secret 
of  the  Lord  was  with  her,  as  it  is  with  all  that  fear 
him.  The  moral  power  of  her  life  and  character 
seconded  her  instructions.  Her  earnestness  was  a 
fixed  certainty  to  all.  With  divine  help,  she  meant 
and  expected  to  train  pupils  for  glory,  honor,  and 
immortality.  She  reached  the  goal ;  she  grasped  the 
prize.  Let  all  those  whose  hearts  throb  responsive 
to  every  wise  effort  to  level  the  masses  upward  to 
the  broad  table-land  of  intelligence,  virtue,  and  use- 
fulness, instead  of  downward  to  the  dead  monotony 
of  ignorance,  depravity,  and  despair — ^let  any  and  all 
such  go  and  do  likewise. 

Mrs.  Banister  gives  the  following  outline  of  Miss 
Lyon's  excellences  as  an  educator. 

"  She  understood  and  loved  the  character  and  gov- 
ernment of  God.  She  was  acquainted  with  the  human 
mind  in  its  relations  to  him  and  to  its  fellow-crea- 
tures, and  had  a  living  sense  of  its  capacity  and  des- 
tiny, and  of  the  effect  of  habits  and  the  way  to  form 
them  aright.  She  cordially  welcomed  the  Bible  as  a 
revelation  from  God  to  man,  and  diligently  employed 
herself  in  learning  its  divine  truths.  She  had^  the 
first  and  the  second  table  of  the  moral  law  written  on 
her  heart,  and  had  a  peculiar  facility  in  leading  others 


HER  CHARACTER  AND  LABORS.  353 

to  understand  it.  She  thoroughly  appreciated  the 
gospel  as  opening  a  way  for  the  salvation  of  the  lost, 
and  had  a  living  faith  in  all  its  truths,  especially  in 
Him  who  is  'the  Truth.'  She  cherished  a  glowing 
benevolence  towards  all  for  whom  Christ  died,  and 
felt  a  burning  zeal  to  do  all  in  her  power  towards 
extending  the  knowledge  of  the  Redeemer  to  every 
creature.  She  understood  and  felt  the  necessity  of 
bringing  great  and  unalterable  truths  before  the  hu- 
man mind  in  a  way  suited  to  produce  their  legitimate 
effects.  She  really  believed  that  what  ought  to  be 
done  can  be  done,  and  yet  that  without  God's  bless- 
ing all  will  be  in  vain ;  and  united  an  abiding  reli- 
ance on  him  with  a  cheerful  expectation  of  his  bless- 
ing." 

This  highly  intellectual  woman  began  her  Chris- 
tian life,  as  all  Christian  life  must  begin,  in  study  and 
conviction.  She  "thought  on  her  ways,  and  turned 
her  feet  to  God's  testimonies."  It  seemed  to  her  at 
first,  as  it  did  to  others,  that  her  intellectual  percep- 
tions were  far  in  advance  of  her  moral  susceptibilities, 
and  she  adopted  the  true  means  of  moral  and  religious 
culture.  She  studied  the  Bible  thoroughly.  She  re- 
flected. No  new  truth  came  to  her  without  its  own 
fresh  welcome.  She  became  rooted  and  grounded 
and  settled  in  the  faith.  She  searched  till  she  found 
the  Rock,  and  tried  it  till  she  felt  her  foothold  to  be 
firm  and  sure.  She  laid  up  divine  knowledge  as  many 
dig  for  and  treasure  up  gold,  till  showers  of  divine 
grace  descended  upon  her,  and  her  soul  was  full  of 
emotion.  It  was  not  fitful  and  unsteady  emotion,  like 
gusts  of  wind  in  early  spring-time.    It  was  not  over- 


354  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

whelmingly  strong,  breaking  down  the  metes  and 
bounds  of  humanity.  It  was  steady  and  true,  as  the 
sun  to  his  appointed  time.  The  feeling  heart  became 
as  deep  and  steady  as  the  seeing  eye  was  clear  and 
true.* 

*  Miss  Lyon  left  no  private  journal.  The  following  memo- 
randum which  casually  escaped  destruction,  reveals  her  habit 
of  self-discipline,  and  shows  that  she  was  not  able,  more  than 
those  who  have  gone  before  her,  to  reach  a  high  standard  of 
piety  without  strenuous  efforts. 

"L  Worldly  intrusion  on  sacred  time.  1.  In  secret  prayer; 
2.  In  reading  the  Bible ;  3.  In  little  opportunities  for  ejacula- 
tory  prayer;  4.  In  family  devotions;  5.  Sabbath  generally; 
6.  Hearing  the  word ;  7.  Prayer  in  sanctuary ;  8.  Holy  com- 
munion with  God  the  Father,  Son,. and  Holy  Ghost,  and  with 
the  disciples  of  Christ. 

"  II.  Misspending  time.  1.  Indefinite  musings ;  2.  Anticipat- 
ing needlessly ;  3.  Needless  speculations ;  4.  Indulging  in  re- 
luctance to  begin  a  duty ;  6.  In  doubtful  cases  hesitating  too 
long ;  6.  Spending  time  in  reverie  which  should  be  spent  in 
prayer. 

"  ni.  Self-control.  1.  Too  ardent  in  a  new  thought ;  2.  Too 
desirous  for  immediate  execution;  3.  Feelings  discomposed 
by  opposition ;  4.  Expressing  dissent  when  it  would  be  better 
to  wait  a  little ;  5.  Reminding  others  of  their  deficiencies  with- 
out sufficient  object.  (Be  like  Christ.  Inquire,  before  speak- 
ing, whether  it  will  do  good — ^whether  duty  requires  it;  if 
not,  avoid  alluding  to  them.)  6.  Referring  to  mistakes  of  pu- 
pils in  little  things,  family  duties,  domestic  work,  etc.  (Inquire 
if  they  designed  to  do  right;  if  their  mistake  involves  any 
general  principle  ;  whether  there  will  bo  any  occasion  for  them 
to  commit  the  same  again.    Be  like  Christ — like  Christ.)" 

Miss  Lyon  often  set  apart  a  day  or  a  part  of  a  day  as  a 
season  of  special  self-examination  and  prayer.  On  these  occa- 
sions she  often  drew  up  for  her  own  use  a  paper  similar  to  the 
above,  and  it  would  sometimes  lie  in  her  Bible  for  days  or 
weeks,  to  remind  her  of  the  points  against  which  she  wished 
to  set  a  special  watch. 


HER  CHARACTER  AND  LABORS.  355 

Miss  Lyon's  benevokmx  was  pure  and  deep,  and  as 
like  God's  as  is  perhaps  ever  seen  in  this  imperfect 
world.  It  was  not  limited  by  rank  or  intelligence, 
or  creed  or  character.  It  was  love  to  all,  and  she 
had  so  much  of  it  that  thousands  of  individuals  drank 
of  its  full  overflowings,  and  yet  it  did  not  fail.  It 
was  not  the  mere  conviction  that  she  ought  to  be  be- 
nevolent. It^was  not  merely  an  emotion.  It  was  a 
strong  will  bent  on  doing  good,  and  bringing  every 
power  and  every  instrument  into  sweet  captivity  to 
that  high  end.  It  was  such  as  requires  and  presup- 
poses a  high  intelligence.  She  could  not  have  loved 
and  chosen  the  welfare  of  others  as  she  did  without 
a  large  and  clear  eye  to  see  wherein  it  consisted.  In 
few  minds  is  there  a  better  balance  of  the  moral  and 
the  intellectual  than  she  attained  and  for  a  long  time 
exhibited.  Each  power  acted  on  every  other  unto  the 
enlargement  and  most  profitable  investment  of  all  in 
works  of  wisdom  and  love.  Her  benevolence  was 
not  official.  It  was  not  officious.  He  who  seeth  not 
as  man  seeth,  doubtless  saw  in  it  great  deficiency; 
but  judging  and  speaking  after  the  manner  of  men, 
she  dwelt  in  Christian  love  and  in  the  Christian's 
God. 

Miss  Lyon's  life  on  earth  was  nearly  all  spent  in 
the  most  strenuous  exertion.  From  the  early  morning 
of  her  day  till  its  close  she  wrought  with  all  dili- 
gence. She  gathered  together  the  treasures  of  useful 
knowledge  betimes.  She  disciplined  her  powers ;  she 
polished  her  armor ;  she  made  herself  ready  for  the 
battle  of  life.  To  others  she  might  appear  to  be  walk- 
ing in  darkness,  with  no  star  of  hope  to  cheer  and 


356  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

guide  her  steps.  But  she  felt  sure  that  an  infinite 
hand  had  taken  hold  of  hers,  and  was  leading  her 
forward ;  and  therefore  she  could  take  step  after  step 
in  the  dark  with  as  much  confidence  as  if  she  could 
see  before  her  an  iron  pavement.  To  human  sagacity 
the  next  step  might  seem  to  lead  over  a  precipice. 
But  confident  that  she  was  in  the  path  of  duty,  she  was 
equally  sure  that  God  would  hold  her  up.  And  so 
he  did  at  last  plant  her  feet  upon  a  rock. 

From  the  time  she  began  to  distinguish  herself  as 
a  teacher,  her  physical,  inteUectxwl,  and  moral  powers 
were  brought  into  the  service  of  God  and  man.  Wher- 
ever she  went,  her  pathway  was  radiant  with  love, 
though  she  seemed  unconscious  of  its  brightness.  It 
is  interesting  to  see  how  her  course  widened  and 
ascended  as  she  went  forward.  If  one  plan  had  to 
be  given  up,  another  succeeded.  At  her  death  she 
had  opened  a  perennial  fountain  of  influence,  whose 
streams  had  already  reached  the  remotest  nations  of 
the  earth.  The  whole  picture  impresses  us  forcibly 
with  its  moral  sublimity  ;  and  we  might  almost  have 
expected  that  the  chariot  and  horses  of  fire  would  be 
granted  to  close  a  scene  so  much  like  an  angel  visit. 

The  chariot  had  indeed  come  for  her  removal, 
though  she  knew  not  that  it  stood  by  the  door.  She 
had  just  been  down  to  the  banks  of  Jordan  to  see  one 
of  her  beloved  pupils  pass  over  ;  and  as  she  returned, 
she  said  to  those  who  survived,  "  0  if  it  were  I,  how 
happy  I  should  be  to  gol"  She  had  been  called,  yet 
there  was  one  more  message  for  her  to  deliver,  the 
noblest  she  ever  uttered.  Fear  and  anxiety  had  be- 
gun to  spread  in  the  seminary  lest  a  malignant  and 


ts 


HER  CHARACTER  AND  LABORS. »  357 

fatal  disease  were  among  them.  Under  the  influence 
of  an  excitement  almost  supernatural,  having  just 
been  looking,  as  it  were,  into  heaven,  and  burning 
with  a  desire  to  lead  her  pupils  to  trust  Providence 
and  fear  no  evil,  she  appeared  before  them  and  ex- 
claimed, "  Shall  we  fear  what  God  is  about  to  do  ? 
There  is  nothing  in  the  universe  that  I  fear,  but 

THAT  I  shall  »fOT  KNOW  ALL  MY  DUTY,  OR  SHALL  FAIL 
TO  DO  IT." 

Noble  sentiments  to  constitute  this  Christian 
teacher's  last  instruction  to  her  pupils  I  Appropriate 
words  for  her  to  utter  just  as  she  was  entering  the 
portals  of  heaven  1  Worthy  a  place  on  the  marble 
that  transmits  her  memory  to  posterity. 


The  Rev.  Dr.  Humphrey,  in  his  sermon  preached 
at  her  funeral,  says, 

"  In  glancing  at  Miss  Lyon's  character,  taken  all 
in  all,  I  hardly  dare  to  express  the  high  estimation 
whick  my  long  acquaintance  constrains  me  to  cherish, 
lest  I  should  seem  to  exaggerate.  I  certainly  should 
not  express  it  but  in  the  presence  of  those  who  have 
enjoyed  equal  or  better  opportunities  for  marking  her 
radiant  and  upward  course.  I  do  not  say  that  in  her 
intellectual  endowments  she  was  superior  to  many 
other  females,  nor  that  she  attained  to  the  first  rank 
in  external  graces  and  accomplishments ;  but  this  I 
do  say,  that,  so  far  as  I  can  remember,  I  have  never 
known  so  much  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral  pow- 
er all  combined  in  any  one  female  as  in  our  departed 


n 


358  ,  LIFE  OF  MAEY  LYON. 

jfriend.  Such  labors  as  she  performed  would  have 
broken  down  almost  any  other  constitution  years  ago. 
Such  constitutional  energy  as  she  possessed,  always  in 
action,  often  intense,  would  have  shattered  any  ordi- 
nary framework  long  ere  the  meridian  of  life.  Such 
tasks  as  she  imposed  upon  her  brain,  especially  dur- 
ing the  three  years  which  she  spent  in  planning  the 
seminary  and  enlisting  the  necessary  agencies  for  get- 
ting it  up,  would  have  disorganized  almost  any  other. 
How,  under  such  extreme  tension,  the  'thousand 
strings'  held  together,  and  'kept  in  tune  so  long,' 
was  a  wonder  to  all  her  acquaintances. 

"Miss  Lyon's  mind  was  of  a  high  order,  clear, 
strong,  active,  well  balanced,  inventive,  which  no  dis- 
couragement could  depress,  no  obstacle  daunt.  It  is 
very  rare  indeed  to  find  such  mental  strength  and 
such  quenchless  ardor  controlled  by  the  soundest  dis- 
cretion and  the  best  'round-about  common-sense.' 
One  of  the  strong  proofs  of  Miss  Lyon's  intellectual 
superiority,  which  must  have  struck  all  who  knew 
her,  was  the  power  which  she  had  to  influence  other 
minds.  As  a  teacher  and  governess  of  a  great  school, 
few  have  equalled  her  in  this  respect.  It  might  be 
difficult  to  show  exactly  wherein  her  great  skill  and 
success  lay ;  but  no  scholar,  I  believe,  was  ever  long 
under  her  care  without  feeling  herself  in  a  sort  of 
enchanted  circle,  held  there  by  invisible  attractions 
which  it  was  hard  to  resist,  and  from  which  very  few 
wished  to  be  released.  Nor  was  it  the  young  alone 
whom  she  had  the  power  to  influence.  The  maturest 
minds  felt  it  when  she  needed  their  aid ;  and  but  for 
this,  she  could  never  have  enlisted  so  many  heads 


.V- 


HER  CHARACTER  AND  LABORS.  35$ 

and  hearts  and  hands  as  were  necessary  to  build  and 
establish  this  noble  seminary. 

"  But  it  was  the  moral  and  religious  in  Miss  Lyon's 
character  which  eclipsed  all  her  other  endowments, 
and  in  which  her  great  strength  lay.  And  the  most 
prominent  feature  was  benevolence.  To  do  the  greatest 
possible  good  to  the  greatest  number  was  her  study 
and  delight.  I  feel  that  on  this  point  there  is  hardly 
any  danger  of  using  too  strong  language.  To  say 
that  she  was  preeminently  benevolent  is  not  strong 
enough.  In  humble  imitation  of  her  Saviour,  she 
seemed,  wherever  she  went,  and  in  all  her  relations, 
to  be  the  very  embodiment  of  love  and  good  will  to 
men,  and  never  to  have  thought  of  herself,  of  her  own 
ease,  advantage,  or  convenience.  It  was  enough  for 
her  that  others  were  made  wiser  and  better  and  hap- 
pier, at  whatever  cost  of  toil  or  sacrifice  to  herself. 
She  seemed  scarcely  to  know  that  she  had  any  per- 
sonal interests  to  care  for.  If  it  were  not  a  solecism 
in  terms,  I  should  say  that  Miss  Lyon  lived  out  of  her- 
self; and  I  do  say,  and  I  appeal  to  all  who  marked 
her  beneficent  course  from  early  life,  that  she  lived 
incomparably  more  for  others,  for  her  pupils,  for  the 
church,  and  for  the  world,  than  for  herself.  I  do  not 
believe  that  an  instance  can  be  recollected  by  any 
human  being,  since  she  entered  on  her  bright  career 
of  usefulness,  in  which  she  appeared  to  be  actuated  in 
the  slightest  degree  by  selfishness.  Mistakes  she  un- 
doubtedly made,  for  who  does  not  ?  but  all  the  thou- 
sands who  knew  her  might  be  challenged  to  show  that 
she  ever,  by  word  or  deed,  appeared  to  prefer  her 
own  advantage  to  the  good  of  others." 


360  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

FROM  THE  ADDRESS  OF  REV.  DR.  HITCHCOCK,  AT  THE  FIRST 
ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE  SEMINARY  AFTER  MISS  LYON'S 
DEATH. 

Dr.  Hitchcock,  in  noticing  some  of  her  general 
characteristics,  says, 

"  In  her  intellectual  adaptation  to  the  work  assigned 
her,  there  was  a  full  development  of  all  the  powers, 
with  no  undue  predominance  in  any  one  of  them.  It 
were  easy  to  find  individuals  more  distinguished  by 
particular  characteristics,  but  not  easy  to  find  one 
where  the  powers  were  more  harmoniously  balanced, 
and  where,  as  a  whole,  the  mind  would  operate  with 
more  energy  and  efficiency.  She  did,  however,  ex- 
hibit some  mental  characteristics,  either  original  or 
acquired,  more  or  less  peculiar.  It  was,  for  example, 
the  great  features  of  a  subject  which  her  mind  always 
seized  upon  first.  And  when  she  had  gained  a  clear 
conception  of  these,  she  took  less  interest  in  minute 
details  ;  or  rather,  her  mind  seemed  better  adapted  to 
master  fundamental  principles  than  to  trace  out  mi- 
nute diflferences.  Her  mind  would  work  like  a  giant 
when  tracing  out  the  history  of  redemption  with  Ed- 
wards, or  the  analogies  of  nature  to  religion  with 
Butler,  or  the  great  truths  of  Theism  with  Chalmers ; 
but  it  would  nod  over  the  pages  of  the  metaphysical 
quibbler,  as  if  conscious  that  it  had  a  higher  destiny. 
And  yet  this  did  not  result  from  an  inability  to  de- 
scend to  the  details  of  a  science  when  necessary. 

"  The  inventive  faculties  were  also  very  fully  devel- 
oped in  our  friend.  It  was  not  the  creations  of  fancy 
merely,  such  as  form  the  poet,  but  the  power  of  find- 
ing means  to  accomplish  important  ends.    Nor  was 


HER  CHARACTER  AND  LABORS.  361 

it  invention  unbalanced  by  judgment,  such  as  leads 
many  to  attempt  schemes  impracticable  and  quixotic. 
For  rarely  did  she  attempt  any  thing  in  which  she 
did  not  succeed ;  nor  did  she  undertake  it  till  her 
clear  judgment  told  her  that  it  would  succeed.  Then 
it  mattered  little  who  or  what  opposed.  At  first  she 
hesitated,  especially  when  any  plan  was  under  con- 
sideration that  would  not  be  generally  approved ; 
but  when,  upon  careful  examination,  she  saw  clearly 
its  practicability  and  importance,  she  nailed  the  col- 
ors to  the  mast,  and  though  the  enemy's  fire  might  be 
terrific,  she  stood  calmly  at  her  post,  and  usually  saw 
her  opposers  lower  their  flag.  She  possessed  in  an 
eminent  degree  that  most  striking  of  all  the  charac- 
teristics of  a  great  mind,  namely,  perseverance  under 
difiiculties.  When  thoroughly  convinced  that  she  had 
truth  on  her  side,  she  did  not  fear  to  stand  alone  and 
act  alone,  patiently  waiting  for  the  hour  when  others 
would  see  the  subject  as  she  did.  This  was  firmness, 
not  obstinacy,  for  no  one  was  more  open  to  convic- 
tion than  she ;  but  her  conversion  must  result  from 
stronger  arguments,  not  from  fear,  or  the  authority  of 
names.  Had  she  not  possessed  this  feature  of  charac- 
ter, Mount  Holyoke  Seminary  never  would  have  ex- 
isted, at  least  not  on  its  present  plan.  But  its  tri- 
umphant success  for  one  third  of  a  generation  is  a 
striking  illustration  of  the  far-reaching  sagacity  and 
accurate  judgment  of  its  originator. 

"  Besides  this  seminary,  the  most  striking  example 
of  the  inventive  powers  of  our  friend  is  that  only  vol- 
ume which  she  has  left  us — I  mean  the  '  Missionary 
Offering' — called  forth  by  an  exigency  in  a  cause 

Miiry  Ljroa.  1 0 


362  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

which  she  dearly  loved,  and  whose  most  striking  char- 
acteristic is  its  missionary  spirit.  Yet  it  is  in  fact  a 
well-sustained  allegory,  demanding  for  its  composition 
no  mean  powers  of  invention  and  imagination. 

"Miss  Lyon  possessed  also  the  power  of  concen- 
trating the  attention  and  enduring  long-continued  men- 
tal labor  in  an  extraordinary  degree.  When  once 
fairly  engaged  in  any  important  subject,  literary,  sci- 
entific, theological,  or  economical,  there  seemed  to  be 
nothing  in  the  external  world  to  break  up  her  train 
of  thought,  or  prevent  her  reaching  the  desired  result. 

"  Another  mental  characteristic  of  our  friend  was 
her  great  power  to  control  the  minds  of  others.  And  it 
was  done  too  without  their  suspecting  it;  nay,  in 
opposition  often  to  strong  prejudice.  Before  you 
were  aware,  her  well-woven  net  of  argument  was  over 
you,  and  so  soft  were  its  silken  meshes  that  you  did 
not  feel  them.  One  reason  was,  that  you  soon  learnt 
that  the  fingers  of  love  and  knowledge  had  unitedly 
formed  the  web  and  woof  of  that  net.  You  saw  that 
she  knew  more  than  you  did  about  the  subject ;  that 
she  had  thrown  her  whole  soul  into  it ;  that  in  urg- 
ing it  upon  you,  she  was  actuated  by  benevolent  mo- 
tives, and  was  anxious  for  your  good  ;  and  that  it  was 
hazardous  for  you  to  resist  so  much  light  and  love. 
And  thus  it  was  that  many  a  refractory  pupil  was 
subdued,  and  many  an  individual  brought  to  aid  a 
cause  to  which  he  was  before  indifferent  or  opposed. 

"I  must  not  omit  to  mention  her  great  mental 
energy  and  invincible  perseverance.  That  energy  was 
a  quiet  power,  but  you  saw  that  it  had  giant  strength. 
It  might  fail  of  success  to-day,  but  in  that  case  it 


HER  CHARACTER  AND  LABORS.  363 

calmly  waited  till  to-morrow.  Nay,  a  score  of  fail- 
ures seemed  only  to  rouse  the  inventive  faculty  to 
devise  new  modes  of  operation ;  nor  would  the  story 
of  the  ant  that  fell  backward  sixty-nine  times  in  at- 
tempting to  climb  a  wall,  and  succeeded  only  upon 
the  seventieth  trial,  be  an  exaggerated  representation 
of  her  perseverance.  Had  she  lacked  this  energy  and 
perseverance,  she  might  have  been  distinguished  in 
something  else,  but  she  never  would  have  been  the 
founder  of  Mount  Holyoke  Female  Seminary. 

"  Yet  it  is  in  her  religious  character,  and  there 
alone,  that  we  shall  find  the  secret  and  the  powerful 
spring  of  all  the  efforts  of  her  life  which  she  would 
wish  to  have  remembered.  But  I  approach  this  part 
of  her  character  with  a  kind  of  awe,  as  if  I  were  on 
holy  ground,  and  were  attempting  to  lay  open  that 
which  she  would  wish  never  revealed.  In  her  ordi- 
nary intercourse,  so  full  was  she  of  suggestions  and 
plans  on  the  subject  of  education,  and  of  her  new 
seminary,  that  you  would  not  suspect  how  deep  and 
pure  was  the  fountain  of  piety  in  her  heart,  nor  that 
from  thence  the  waters  flowed  in  which  all  her  plans 
and  efforts  were  baptized  and  devoted  to  God.  But 
as  for  the  last  thirty  years  the  motives  of  her  actions 
have  been  brought  to  light,  I  have  been  every  year 
more  deeply  impressed  with  their  Christian  disinter- 
estedness, and  with  the  entireness  of  her  consecration 
to  God.  Without  a  knowledge  of  this  fact,  a  stran- 
ger might  mistake  for  selfishness  the  earnestness  and 
exclusiveness  with  which  she  often  urged  the  inter- 
ests of  her  seminary.  But  in  the  light  of  this  know- 
ledge, the  apparent  selfishness  is  transmuted  into 


364  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

sacred  Christian  love.  Her  whole  life  indeed,  for 
many  years  past,  has  seemed  to  me  to  be  only  a  bright 
example  of  missionary  devotedness  and  missionary 
labor.  I  have  never  met  with  the  individual  who 
seemed  to  me  more  ready  to  sacrifice  even  life  in  a 
good  cause  than  she  was ;  and  had  that  sacrifice  been 
necessary  for  securing  the  establishment  of  her  favor- 
ite seminary,  cheerfully,  and  without  a  moment's  hes- 
itation, do  I  believe  she  would  have  laid  down  her 
life.  I  would  indeed  by  no  means  represent  her  as 
an  example  of  Christian  perfection.  I  could  not  do 
so  great  injustice  to  her  own  convictions.  But  since 
her  death  I  have  looked  back  over  the  whole  of  my 
long  acquaintance  with  her  in  almost  every  variety  of 
circumstance,  to  see  if  I  could  recollect  an  instance 
in  which  she  spoke  of  any  individual  in  such  a  way 
as  to  indicate  feelings  not  perfectly  Christian  ;  or  if 
I  could  discover  any  lurkings  of  inordinate  worldly 
ambition,  or  traces  of  sinful  pride,  or  envy,  or  undue 
excitement,  or  disposition  to  shrink  from  duty,  or  of 
unwillingness  to  make  any  sacrifices  which  God  de- 
manded ;  and  I  confess  that  the  tablet  of  memory 
furnishes  not  a  single  example.  What  I  considered 
errors  of  judgment  I  can  indeed  remember,  but  not 
any  moral  obliquity  in  feeling  or  action.  They  doubt- 
less existed,  but  it  needed  nicer  moral  vision  than  I 
possess  to  discover  them. 

"  I  ought  to  add  that  this  eminence  of  Christian 
character  was  founded  upon  a  clear  apprehension  of 
biblical  principles.  She  thoroughly  understood  and 
cordially  embraced  the  doctrines  of  the  Puritans,  just 
as  they  lie  in  their  massive  strength  in  the  Bible — 


HER  CHARACTEE  AND  LABORS.  365 

not  as  they  often  come  forth,  alloyed  and  weakened, 
from  the  moulds  of  a  self-confident  philosophy.  To 
study  these  truths  was  her  delight.  To  explain  them 
to  her  pupils  was  one  of  her  most  successful  efforts  as 
a  teacher.  Would  that  I  could  present  on  canvas  the 
picture  of  Miss  Lyon  as  it  lies  in  my  memory,  when 
she  was  engaged  on  the  Sabbath  absorbed  in  the  study 
and  contemplation  of  divine  truth. 

"  There  were  two  religious  principles  which  exert- 
ed an  overmastering  influence  upon  Miss  Lyon's  char- 
acter. One  was  a  sense  of  personal  responsibility ; 
the  other,  trust  in  an  overruling  Providence.  As  the 
Saviour,  when  he  went  up  to  Jerusalem  for  the  last 
time,  with  his  sufferings  full  in  view,  advanced  before 
his  disciples,  as  if  in  haste  to  suffer,  so  she,  when 
duty  called,  did  not  wait  for  others,  but  was  ready  to 
precede  them,  and  measure  the  amount  of  her  sacrifi- 
ces, donations,  and  efforts  by  her  sense  of  duty,  rather 
than  by  the  example  of  others.  And  it  was  this  sense 
of  personal  responsibility  which  she  urged  always 
upon  her  pupils,  and  with  great  success.  So  strong 
too  was  her  faith  in  a  special  providence,  that  delay 
and  discomfiture  in  the  execution  of  her  favorite  plans 
produced  little  or  no  discouragement,  but  led  her  to 
inquire  more  carefully  whether  there  was  not  some- 
thing wrong  in  her  or  her  plans  which  occasioned  the 
delay  ;  and  having  done  all  she  could,  she  would  wait 
long  and  cheerfully  for  the  divine  manifestation.  And 
so  often  had  she  witnessed  interpositions  in  her  behalf 
almost  miraculous,  that  her  faith  might  often  be  seen 
steady  and  buoyant  when  that  of  others  yielded  to 
appalling  difficulties  and  dangers. 


366  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

"  Such  was  Miss  Lyon — such  the  discipline  through 
•which  she  was  made  to  pass  to  fit  her  for  her  work, 
and  such  the  magnificent  results.  We  are  amazed 
when  we  look  back  at  the  amount  and  magnitude  of 
her  labors.  Very  few  females  have  done  so  much  for 
the  world  while  they  lived,  or  have  left  so  rich  a  leg- 
acy when  they  died.  Nor  is  the  fair  picture  marred 
by  dark  stains,  save  those  of  microscopic  littleness. 
From  the  days  of  her  childhood  to  the  time  of  her 
death,  all  her  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral  powers 
were  concentrated  upon  some  useful  and  noble  object ; 
while  selfishness  and  self-gratification  seem  never  to 
have  stood  at  all  in  the  way,  or  to  have  retarded  the 
fervid  wheels  of  benevolence.  I  cannot  therefore  be- 
lieve that  it  is  the  partiality  of  personal  friendship 
which  leads  me  to  place  Miss  Lyon  among  the  most 
remarkable  women  of  her  generation.  Her  history 
too  shows  the  guiding  hand  of  a  special  providence 
almost  as  strikingly  as  the  miraculous  history  of 
Abraham,  of  Moses,  of  Elijah,  or  of  Paul.  Oh,  it  tells 
us  all  how  blessed  it  is  to  trust  Providence  implicitly 
when  we  are  trying  to  do  good,  though  the  darkness 
be  so  thick  around  us  that  we  cannot  see  forward  one 
hand's  breadth,  and  bids  us  advance  with  as  confident 
a  step  as  if  all  were  light  before  us. 

"This  picture,  too,  is  a  complete  one.  Her  life 
was  neither  too  long  nor  too  short.  She  died  at  the 
right  time,  with  her  armor  on  and  yet  bright.  But 
her  friends  saw  that,  strong  as  her  constitution  natu- 
rally was,  it  was  giving  way  under  such  severe  and 
protracted  labor,  and  the  infirmities  of  declining  years 
beginning  to  show  themselves,  even  at  the  age  of  fifty- 


HER  CHARACTER  AND  LABORS.  Z&1 

two.  But  with  her  Saviour  she  could  say,  *I  have 
finished  the  work  which  thou  gavest  me  to  do.'  All 
her  important  plans  had  been  carried  into  successful 
operation,  and  tested  by  long  experiment ;  and  the 
institution  was  in  the  right  condition  to  be  committed 
to  other  hands.  She  had  also  of  late  been  rapidly 
ripening  for  another  sphere  of  labor.  One  of  her 
friends,  who  had  been  more  intimately  connected  with 
her  for  several  years  past  than  any  other,  when  at  a 
distance  she  heard  of  her  sickness,  felt  confident  that 
it  would  be  unto  death ;  for  she  had  known  how,  for 
some  months  previous,  her  friend  had  been  feeding 
daily  on  manna,  and  pluming  her  wings  for  her  up- 
ward flight.  Severe  therefore  as  her  removal  seemed 
when  first  announced,  it  happened  just  at  the  right 
time ;  and  I  cannot  wish  to  call  her  back.  But  I  do 
feel — and  many  who  hear  me,  I  doubt  not,  feel  it  too — 
I  do  feel  a  strong  desire  to  be  borne  upward,  on  an 
angel's  wing,  to  the  mount  Zion  where  she  now  dwells, 
and  to  hear  her  describe,  in  the  glowing  language  of 
heaven,  the  wonders  of  Providence,  as  manifested  in 
her  own  earthly  course,  as  they  now  appear  in  the 
fright  transparencies  of  heaven.  Yet  further,  I  long 
to  hear  her  describe  the  still  wider  plans  she  is  now 
devising  and  executing  for  the  good  of  the  universe 
and  the  glory  of  God  ;  and  how  admirably  her  earth- 
ly discipline  fitted  her  for  a  nobler  field  of  labor 
above  ;  so  that  these  providences,  which  appear  to  us 
to  have  been  consummated  on  earth,  were,  in  fact, 
only  a  necessary  means  of  adapting  her  to  a  work 
which  shall  fill  and  delight  all  her  powers  throughout 
eternal  ages.     Gladly  too  would  I  listen  to  her  in- 


^^' 


368  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

tensely  earnest  inquiries  respecting  her  beloved  sem- 
inary and  friends  on  earth;  and  learn  whether,  in 
some  way  unknown  to  us,  she  may  not  he  still  able  to 
administer  to  their  welfare.  0  how  sweet  too  would 
it  be,  could  we  listen  to  that  rapturous  song  of  praise 
which  ever  and  anon  she  would  pour  forth  to  her 
Redeemer,  as  his  glories  strike  her  eye,  or  his  past 
kindness  touches  a  chord  of  gratitude  in  her  heart. 

"But  alas,  how  vain  are  all  such  aspirations! 
And  yet,  my  Christian  friends,  if  we  are  faithful  to 
God  and  duty  as  she  was,  in  a.very  few  days  all  this 
intercourse  and  communion  will  be  a  reality.  Some 
of  us  may  not  indeed  be  able  to  sound  so  lofty  a  note 
of  praise  as  our  glorified  friend ;  but  our  song  and 
our  communion  shall  nevertheless  be  the  music  and 
the  intercourse  of  heaven,  and  that  will  be  enough." 


SENTENCES  FROM  HER  LIPS.  369 


SENTENCES  FROM  MISS  LYON'S  LIPS, 

TAKEN  FROM  THE  NOTE-BOOK  OF  ONE  OP  HER 
PUPILS. 

Never  destroy  any  thing  that  God  has  made,  or  given 
skill  to  others  to  make ;  not  even  a  kernel  of  corn,  nor  a 
pin.  Never  think  any  thing  worthless  until  it  has  done 
all  the  good  it  can.  This  is  the  true  sense  of  economy. 
Let  it  be  an  unobtrusive  habit,  practised  constantly 
for  Christ.  Economy  and  self-denial  are  the  two  great 
springs  which  feed  the  fountains  of  benevolence. 

Comfort  and  economy,  good  taste  and  true  Christian 
liberality,  are  not  incompatible,  but  their  union  requires 
care,  forethought,  and  good  judgment. 

We  must  give  according  to  our  means  and  according 
to  our  outlays  upon  ourselves.  A  twenty-five  cent  do- 
nation by  the  side  of  a  twenty-five  dollar  shawl  would 
present  a  painful  contrast. 

Much  in  the  Bible  establishes  the  doctrine  that  a  cer- 
tain proportion  of  our  property  should  be  devoted  to  the 
Lord.  The  system  of  tithing  among  God's  chosen  peo- 
ple is  fully  delineated  in  the  Old  Testament,  while  the 
clearer  light  of  the  New  discloses  our  obligations  so 
fully  that  it  dispenses  with  specific  directions,  and  leaves 
each  to  do  what  a  heart  touched  by  the  love  of  Jesus 
prompts.  With  increased  ability  and  increased  demands 
upon  us,  our  obligations  are  increased.  Treasures  are  a 
touchstone  for  the  heart. 

Our  time  as  well  as  our  property  belongs  to  the 
Lord.  We  ought  to  take  care  of  every  hour,  that  we 
may  have  the  more  for  communion  with  heaven.  To  be 
16* 


8t0  LIFE  OF  MARY  LYON. 

most  exact  in  secular  appointments  and  give  only  frag- 
ments to  religious  duties,  is  not  seeking  first  the  king- 
dom of  God.  When  the  daughters  of  the  millennium 
shall  occupy  this  seminary,  they  will  not  think  a  half- 
hour,  morning  and  evening,  suflScient  for  secret  devo- 
tion. 

Ladies  should  not  expect  a  large  compensatiion  for 
teaching.  They  should  go  into  the  business  of  instruc- 
tion from  the  same  motives  with  which  the  servant  of 
the  Lord  goes  into  the  ministry.  They  do  not  always 
have  to  wait  until  they  reach  heaven  to  begin  to  receive 
their  reward.  The  love  of  grateful  hearts  is  a  rich  treas- 
ure, and  even  a  better  resource  for  a  supply  of  our  bod- 
ily wants  than  coffers  of  gold. 

t^  Where  is  the  unmarried  lady  with  a  good  education 
and  a  well-balanced  character  who  is  not  able  to  find 
employment  and  support? 

To  be  a  good  wife,  it  matters  not  what  there  is  with 
a  lady,  but  what  there  is  of  her. 

Happy  is  she  who  possesses  the  ability  to  live  re- 
spectably on  a  little. 

Teaching  is  a  valuable  preparation  for  influence.  In 
no  other  way  can  the  principles  of  the  human  mind  and 
heart  be  so  well  learned.  If  you  commence  teaching 
and  do  not  succeed,  teach  until  you  do  succeed.  Pre- 
pare thoroughly  for  every  exercise  and  for  every  recita- 
tion, but  study  the  minds  and  hearts  of  your  children 
more  than  any  book.  She  who  can  teach  well,  who  can 
control  the  minds  of  the  young  happily  and  rightly,  is 
all  the  better  prepared  for  any  sphere  to  which  a  lady 
can  be  called — to  be  a  minister's  wife,  or  a  missionary, 
or  to  stand  at  any  post.  Perhaps  the  qualification  for 
the  highest  influence  is  power  to  wield  the  pen,  to  write 
so  as  to  make  others  desire  to  be  better. 


SENTENCES  FROM  HER  LIPS.  311 

To  accomplish  any  thing  valuable,  it  is  necessary  to 
divide  time  wisely  and  systematically.  Many  have  no 
definite  lines  to  mark  out  their  time.  If  they  occasion- 
ally accomplish  a  considerable  amount  in  a  day,  they 
know  not  how  it  was  done  ;  and  when  they  accomplish 
nothing,  they  know  not  the  reason  why.  Just  so  with 
speaking ;  many  do  not  know  the  boundary  where  slan- 
der begins.  Nearly  all  think  it  their  duty  or  their  priv- 
ilege to  speak  against  others. 

When  the  Bible  speaks,  we  are  not  to  parley.  It 
is  our  statute-book,  and  when  it  makes  known  our  duty, 
we  are  not  to  answer  back,  any  more  than  Abraham 
when  he  was  commanded  by  a  voice  from  heaven  to* 
offer  up  his  son,  his  only  son  Isaac. 

The  mind  may  have  to  bear  a  pressure  of  care,  and 
yet  the  heart  may  be  on  the  things  of  religion.  A  moth- 
er whose  time  and  thoughts  are  necessarily  engrossed 
with  the  care  of  her  family,  may  yet  have  much  enjoy- 
ment in  God. 

This  world  is  intended  as  a  place  of  education  for 
heaven,  and  when  it  is  not  made  such,  it  is  perverted 
from  its  true  use.  To  this  end,  God  has  so  arranged 
his  providences,  so  planned  his  government,  as  to  require 
unintermitting  watchfulness,  diligence,  and  eflFort.  We 
are  not  to  look  for  ease  ;  as  fast  as  we  acquire  a  facility 
in  accomplishing  one  task,  we  may  expect  that  another 
more  difficult  will  be  assigned  us.  This  world  is  not 
our  rest. 

Promptly  and  faithfully  to  perform  every  duty  in  the 
place  where  you  are,  as  a  member  of  a  family,  or  of  a 
school,  is  the  best  way  to  prepare  for  the  duties  of  any 
and  every  station  in  life.  Avoid,  for  your  whole  life, 
trying  the  patience  or  irritating  the  feelings  of  others, 
and  cultivate  those  habits  which  will  make  you  welcome 


'4« 


312  LIFE  OP  MARY  LYON. 

visitors  and  valuable  friends  anywhere.  Pay  all  bills 
when  they  are  due.  Be  perfect  in  all  the  requirements 
of  this  school,  and  you  will  have  power  to  control  your- 
self anywhere. 

We  have  great  power  over  ourselves.  "We  may  be- 
come almost  what  we  will.  Portray  to  yourself  a  char- 
acter in  mind,  heart,  education,  taste,  and  manners,  such 
as  you  ought  to  be,  and  then  aim  to  be  such. 

Never,  under  the  plea  of  peculiar  circumstances, 
allow  yourself  to  do  what  you  know  would  be  wrong  in 
another. 

Never  write  a  foolish  thing  in  a  letter  or  elsewhere  j 
"what  is  written  is  written." 

When  in  doubt  which  of  two  courses  to  take,  it  is 
usually  wise  to  choose  that  which  involves  the  greatest 
self-denial :  as  when,  for  example,  you  feel  loath  to  rise 
in  the  morning,  or  to  go  to  meeting  on  the  Sabbath. 

Never  indulge  inordinate  desires  for  an  earthly  good. 
Experience  has  taught  me  to  fear  the  gratification  of  any 
ardent  desire,  unless  I  have  first  been  brought  to  yield 
my  own  will  entirely — to  say  from  the  heart,  "Not  as  I 
will,  but  as  thou  wilt." 

We  should  so  live  that  it  will  be  pleasant  for  others 
to  think  of  us  when  we  are  gone.  Let  us  not  only  have 
our  hearts  right,  "sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience," 
but  "  our  bodies  washed  with  pure  water" — our  external 
conduct,  on  which  our  influence  and  usefulness  so  much 
depend,  free  from  reproach. 

Entire  consecration  to  the  service  of  God  makes  a 
person  willing  to  take  just  the  place  to  which  he  in  his 
providence  calls  her,  whether  it  be  to  a  post  of  distinc- 
tion, or  of  humble  and  tedious  labor.  Outward  circum- 
stances neither  greatly  elate  or  depress  such  an  one. 
The  blessings  that  we  should  most  earnestly  crave  are, 


SENTENCES  FROM  HER  LIPS.  373 

first,  that  we  may  dwell  for  ever  in  the  presence  of  God ; 
and  second,  that  we  may  be  permitted  to  labor  for  him 
while  we  continue  on  earth. 

Scholars  in  the  end  respect  and  love  those  teachers 
best  who  seek  their  interest  rather  than  their  gratifica- 
tion. J 

It  is  not  by  a  person's  seeking  her  own  happiness 
directly,  that  it  is  attained ;  but  by  a  forgetfulness  of 
self,  and  a  consecration  of  thought,  feeling,  property, 
and  time,  to  the  interests  of  others. 

Cultivate  a  personal  interest  in  all  whom  you  meet, 
and  make  many  general  acquaintances,  that  you  may 
lay  a  broad  foundation  for  influence  and  usefulness,  but 
be  slow  in  forming  intimate  friendships.  Be  sure  to 
have  your  heavenly  Father  for  your  most  intimate 
friend. 

Write  brief  resolutions  for  the  sake  of  self-admoni- 
tion, rather  than  a  diary  or  journal. 

Happiness  is  to  be  measured  not  by  present  gratifi- 
cation, but  by  the  results  of  our  acts.  A  remembered  joy 
is  sometimes  the  bitterest  sorrow.  Recollections  of 
strenuous  exertion  in  a  good  cause,  of  patient  endurance 
for  the  sake  of  the  right,  of  self-denial  borne  cheerfully 
for  Christ's  sake,  are  always  agreeable.  To  be  truly 
delightful,  a  thing  must  be  increasingly  sweet  on  every 
recollection,  not  only  through  time  but  to  eternity. 
Acts  to  whose  effects  sin  now  blinds  the  mental  vision, 
may  yet  be  in  the  end  sources  of  indescribable  woe. 
"  Son,  remember,"  said  Abraham  to  the  rich  man  in  his 
place  of  torment. 

The  most  wretched  beings  are  those  who  think  only 
of  their  own  little  selves,  who  are  always  regretting  the 
past  and  reproaching  themselves,  and  take  no  interest 
in  any  but  themselves.     This  is  a  portion  of  the  misery 


314      •  LIFE  OF  MARY  LY.ON. 

of  the  lost  in  hell,  and  we  often  see  it  painfully  fore- 
shadowed in  the  wretchedness  of  the  selfish  on  earth. 

One  main  difference  between  the  moral  laws  of  God 
and  his  laws  of  life  and  health  is,  that  the  former  are 
founded  on  the  immutable  principles  of  right,  and  can 
never  be  set  aside  ;  while  the  latter  derive  their  authori- 
ty from  God's  natural  appointment,  and  where  they  clear- 
ly conflict  with  right  and  duty  may  give  place,  as  in 
exposing  one's  own  life  to  preserve  that  of  others.  God 
has  given  us  a  certain  amount  of  elasticity  within  which 
we  can  safely  venture  beyond  the  strictest  regard  for 
our  own  health.  We  must  take  care  never  to  lessen  this 
elasticity  by  using^it  in  self-indulgence. 

When  the  mind  is  deeply  impressed  with  eternal 
truths  there  is  no  disposition  to  be  frivolous  or  trifling. 

A  stated  time,  a  particular  place,  and  a  punctual  at- 
tention to  secret  prayer,  are  necessary  to  keep  up  the 
life  and  power  of  religion  in  the  soul. 

There  is  a  threefold  duty  in  reference  to  the  truth : 
to  receive  it,  to  believe  and  love  it,  and  to  obey  it. 

The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect.  Its  requirements 
are  in  accordance  with  the  principles  implanted  in  our 
natures.  It  treats  all  alike.  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  strength,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self. This  is  as  easily  obeyed  in  sickness  as  In  health, 
in  weakness  as  in  strength — by  the  wise  as  by  the  igno- 
rant, by  the  child  as  by  the  adult,  by  the  poor  as  by  the 
rich.  It  is  exactly  adapted  to  the  wisdom  of  the  wisest, 
to  the  poverty  of  the  poorest,  to  the  various  conditions 
of  all.  Obedience  is  easy  where  there  is  first  a  willing 
mind.  A  conscience  void  of  offence,  enlightened  by  the 
Spirit,  is  the  best  exposition  of  this  glorious  law. 

Gk)d  is  the  supreme  Governor  of  the  world,  and  of 
every  thing  that  takes  place  in  it.    Every  act  as  it  is 


^ 


SENTENCES  FROM  HER  LIPS.  315 

performed,  every  word  as  it  is  spoken,  every  thought 
as  it  passes  through  the  mind,  takes  its  foreseen  place 
in  the  infinite  series  of  events  out  of  which  God  will 
evolve  the  glory  of  his  great  name  and  the  greatest  good 
of  the  created  universe. 

Some  professing  Christians  depend  on  their  plans  for 
religious  improvement,  instead  of  depending  solely  on 
Christ.  We  must  do  all  that  God  would  have  us  because 
he  would  have  us,  and  leave  the  future  with  him.  Some 
easily  find  dark  hours.  They  are  perpetually  seeking 
enjoyment,  assurance,  or  some  remarkable  manifestation, 
instead  of  seeking  to  do  just  what  their  heavenly  Father 
appoints.  They  want  to  be  able  to  look  to  themselves, 
to  get  through  with  the  conflict.  Keep  the  mind  on 
Christ.  Follow  him  through  good  report  and  through 
evil  report,  not  for  the  sake  of  getting  certainty,  of  feel- 
ing security,  but  to  please  him.  Seek  more  grace  instead 
of  seeking  more  assurance.  The  way  to  increase  your 
evidence  is  to  increase  in  faith  and  love  and  conformity 
to  the  divine  will.  Drink  in  divine  truth,  obey  all  your 
heavenly  Father's  commands.  "  Then  shall  ye  know,  if 
ye  follow  on  to  know  the  Lord." 

A  day  set  apart  by  ourselves  from  its  ordinary  avo- 
cations to  be  devoted  exclusively  to  religious  purposes, 
is  like  the  alabaster  box  of  ointment  broken  over  the 
head  of  our  Saviour.  Some  may  ask.  What  profit  is  there 
in  it  ?  why  such  waste  ?  why  was  this  ointment  poured 
upon  the  Saviour's  head  ?  It  is  from  love  to  him.  An 
hour  spent  in  religious  worship  does  not  fail  to  meet  its 
end.  Time  spent  in  earnest  prayer,  in  sacred  medita- 
tion, in  absorbing  adoration  and  praise,  approximates 
more  nearly  to  the  felicity  of  heaven,  than  that  spent  in 
any  other  way  or  manner. 


316 


LIFE  OF  MART  LYON. 


"  Sweet  the  moments,  rich  in  blessing, 
Which  before  the  cross  we  spend." 

We  know  just  as  much  of  heaven  as  we  know  ex- 
perimentally of  feelings,  purposes,  and  employments  in 
unison  with  those  of  the  saints  about  the  throne  of  God. 
Communion  with  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God 
the  Holy  Ghost  here  below,  is  an  earnest  of  the  bliss 
reserved  above. 


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